Bewitched
by Miztical-Dragon
Summary: The ground was cold beneath her tired feet, the shoes that they had given her had holes and gave no protection from the harsh snow covered ground. It looked like a winter wonderland... [Complete] InuYashaKagome
1. Chapter one

**_Hey there...Yes I know I'm starting yet another story.. This is not going to be really long like "through the well" I probably will have a bout 10 chapters max...It's a small series until I can get back onto track with all my other stories.. I hope you like it!_**

**_This story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts around the year 1692.. The year of all the Witch hunts. :) It starts off as an InuYasha and Kikyo story..but things will change.. Please review and tell me what you think of this story... SO ON WITH THE STORY!_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, but I do own the plot to this story and everything else that hasn't got to deal with InuYasha and co._**

**Bewitched.**

**By Miztikal-Dragon**

"Confess!" The man growled angrily as he slammed his hands down on the oak table, "Confess to the sin of witchcraft!"

"But I'm not a witch!" The girl of only nineteen years cried.

Kikyo was her name, and yes she was too was accused of witchcraft. Her long black hair and dark eyes weren't ordinary among the townspeople, but she wasn't ordinary. Thus being the reason she was being tried for one of the worst sins of the century. There had already been twelve convictions in the last month alone, and all of them barely mature woman of no older than twenty.

"SILENCE!" The man yelled again, "We shall not here such blasphemy in this court room!"

Whispers wrung throughout the room, condemning the young woman of her horrible crimes, but she didn't hear a single word. Kikyo sat erect in her chair with her hands clasped firmly in her lap. Her dark eyes carefully surveying the room for the one person in particular, for the person who she had grown to love. Spying his shoulder length black hair, she closed her eyes and sighed heavily. She knew she was going to die because of Salem's greedy townspeople, but as long as she could spend the last of her days looking at him nothing mattered.

"Do ye confess Lady Kikyo?" the man known as Onigumo asked calmly his tone. He was the counsel man of the courts and her accuser. "Do ye confess to the crimes accused?"

"No," She whispered fighting back the need to glare at the man before her, "I am not a witch!"

"LIAR!" A member of the audience cried hysterically, "Then why is it that yer corn is golder than mine? Why have yer cows not died during the heat wave? Why is it that yer skin is whiter than snow and yet ye do not have a slave nor a man working all day on yer lands?!"

The trial had lasted about another hour or so longer with endless badgering and yet Kikyo didn't budge, she didn't confess. All in all, they had her sent to the jail until her punishment for not confessing to a crime she didn't commit could be thought of. There was nobody standing watch and yet if she was a witch, the young woman could have easily escaped; but she wasn't so she couldn't.

Sitting down on the small cot which people called appropriate bedding for a criminal, she watched the night sky through the barred window. Tonight would be a cloudy night and she would calmly accept her fate. Switching her gaze to the celled bars that held her captive, she let a small smile creep onto her face as she saw his from coming into view. She was glad to see him.

"Ye came InuYasha!" She said softly getting up and going over to him.

He had a depressed smile on his face as he held her close through the bars, for InuYasha loved the woman before him with every ounce of his being and he would rest at nothing to make sure that she didn't die in the morning. His violet eyes dropped to the ground as they parted, and immediately she knew that the news he held wasn't good.

"What did they say? What is thy punishment?" She whispered in a small voice.

"It's not too good my love," He replied taking her small hands into his, "Onigumo has found it fit to take ye to the frozen lake in the marrow...It's a test, but if ye pass it.. I don't want to think of a life without ye by my side."

There was a pregnant pause between the two of them, and Kikyo turned her back on InuYasha, her eyes drifting to the world outside her cage. She hugged her arms through the thin material that they called a clothes and reluctantly glanced back at him just once.

"If it is the only way to prove my innocence," Kikyo coldly stated, "Then I shall willing plunge to my death in the murky ice cold waters of the forgiving waters.. God will see the injustice done to me by those ravishing pigs and they will pay for what they have done..."

InuYasha felt the anger bristling into his body as he listened to her. How could she just give up like that? Why was she just throwing his love away? Biting back a sarcastic and hurtful remark, the young man of twenty-one stormed from the room and out into the crisp cold night. He was going to try and bribe Kikyo's life from her death sentence, he was going to try and make a deal with Onigumo so he could have the woman of his dreams next to him for the rest of his life.

An ominous fog crept throughout the small town of Salem, Massachusetts and not a soul was found lingering outside. Rubbing his clothed arms, he let his loose black hair flutter as he kept a steady pace to the center of town. That's where Onigumo was most likely to be found, he and his bible placed sadistically in his long and pale fingers. Coming to a halt a few minutes later at the door of the wealthy middle aged man, InuYasha knocked loudly before sighing heavily...He could already see his white puff of breath in the cold air.. Something wasn't right with the weather.

Knocking yet again, the young boy waited patiently for an answer of some sort. Hearing the shuffling of feet nearing the wooden door, he feverishly rubbed his hands together, followed by exhaling from his mouth to his hands, trying to warm up the unnervingly numb appendages. Knocking yet again, InuYasha was about to turn away when Onigumo appeared on the other side of the door, an annoyed look on his face as he glared at the young boy with height of six feet.

"What is it that ye want InuYasha?" He asked dripping with venom. "Tis late to becoming at one's door dun ye think?"

"Yes, yes I do." InuYasha replied as he was led into the rather big home, "But I have come on very important matters and I wish to speak with ye before the sun has risen."

The two men had talked for what seemed like hours, InuYasha trying to find some way in which Kikyo could be pardoned of her accused crime and set free, but Onigumo held headstrong with his decision. It soon became apparent that the town leader wasn't easily swayed from his important decisions as a counsel man, preacher and a man of the court. Sighing heavily, InuYasha ran his slender fingers through his shoulder length black hair and fixated his gaze onto his feet.

"Is there any way that Kikyo can be saved?" InuYasha asked his voice cracking, "I would give anything just to have her back in my arms..."

An infamous smile crept on to the elder man's face. His black eyes lit up and InuYasha had this unnerving feeling welling up in his stomach. After a while longer of merciless negotiation, they two gentlemen had reached a compromise. Shaking hands, InuYasha pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over to Onigumo; it was the deed to his land, the young man was giving up every ounce of material belonging besides the shirt on his back to save his precious Kikyo. Everything seemed right again.

Stepping out into the cold late night scenery, InuYasha breathed deeply as a genuine smile came to his face, he had never been this happy in his life. Practically skipping to his house in glee, he failed to hear the monotone laughing from the dark depths of Onigumo's home. Nope he didn't, the young man was caught up in his world of an unimaginable fantasy and he didn't plan on coming down any time soon.

_**O**_

As soon as the sun rose, he was awake and waiting patiently for the soft knocking of his door signaling that Kikyo was there, but it never came. He didn't hear the loud whispers of the villagers no did he hear anything else for that matter, he was caught up in his own thoughts that would serve to be his downfall. Getting up to his feet, InuYasha left his home and went directly to the jail, it was empty. A frown covered his features as he stopped a elderly woman known as Kaede, her old features curved into a sullen smile as she looked upon the young man before her.

"What has happened to Kikyo? Do ye know where she is?" He asked curiously.

"Did ye not get the news of her execution being this morning young lad?" The woman said, shaking her head.

"But..." He stuttered, "She's not supposed to be executed...Onigumo said he'd pardon her.."

"I'm sorry my child but Onigumo was found dead a few hours ago in his house.." Kaede told InuYasha, "The villagers thought it would be wise to commence with the sweet young lass' punishment...They tis heading towards the lake as we speak to 'test' the innocent soul...Such a waste of life if ye ask me.."

His eyes grew wide with fear as all the energy left his body. They were going to execute her because Onigumo had not told them about the pardon, he had died before he could. Dashing off in the direction of the lake, InuYasha ran as fast as his legs could carry him, praying that he wasn't too late.

_'Please god!'_ His mind screamed,_ 'Lend me yer strength so I can make it to Kikyo before she is taken from this world...Let me get to her before she dies!'_

_**O**_

The ground was cold beneath her tired feet, the shoes that they had given her had holes and gave no protection from the harsh snow covered ground. It looked like a winter wonderland, the way the trees and everything around her was hidden under a layer or two of pure white snow. Her tangled black tresses blew in her face, sticking to her dry lips everything was going as it had been scheduled. The forest had an eerie silence to it as she kept her dark eyes fixated on the ground just before her feet. The long itchy gray dress that she wore fluttered, and chaffed against her pinkish skin, she was going to freeze before they could "test" her.

It seemed like an eternity before they finally reached the lake, her cheeks flushed red from the immense cold, her wrists tightly bound by a very sturdy bundle of knots and clever rope tying skills that surprisingly one of the village men knew how to make. Sighing heavily, Kikyo stumbled as two rough hands pushed her out onto the thin frozen ice that blanketed the icy cold lake raging like a sea serpent underneath.

**_O_**

_**What did you think? I will get the next chapter as soon as possible, so UNTIL next time, Krystal.**_


	2. Chapter two

_**This story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts around the year 1692.. The year of all the Witch hunts. :) It starts off as an InuYasha and Kikyo story..but things will change.. Please review and tell me what you think of this story... SO ON WITH THE STORY!**_

_**Wow, you get a new chapter so quickly! lol Well it's official there are only NINE chapters to this story. I already have this story plotted out, but I just have to make up the stuff inbetween! Please review and tell me what you think because I am really excited about this story and where its going!**_

_**Yes it does have religion contraveristy just a little. I am in no way telling you that one religion is better, just making you see how InuYasha's point of view is during this hectic time because of the INJUSTICE that has happened to him. So please don't yell at me.. I myself would never trash anyone's religious beliefs even if I don't have one. **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, but I do own the plot to this story and everything else that hasn't got to deal with InuYasha and co.**_

**_Bewitched._**

**_By Miztikal-Dragon_**

_**Chapter two**_

The wind began to strengthen and become violent as the seconds passed like hours. The eager village men and woman watched with held breaths as the so called witch stood on the ice like a statue. The puffs of white air exited from her lips as she just stood there, her tired and aching legs beginning to burn with frost bite as her hair whipped in her face with conviction. So this is how it felt to be not trusted, to be nothing more than a mere savage in her neighbors eyes. The irony was that it all could have been prevented if she had gone along with Onigumo's proposition and married him. InuYasha had told her to take the deal because he wished not to see her die, but Kikyo wouldn't marry for anything but for love, she was waiting for the day in which InuYasha would ask for her for an eternity...the two of them forever under the graceful eyes of their god and savior..

Sighing heavily, the young woman shuffled her weight from one foot to the other, still waiting for InuYasha to come and save her...To take her out into the woods where they would lead a life away from every person in the small and prosperous town of Salem.. Away from the god forsaken naivety of the people inside the tiny dwellings that lined the streets. She could hear the whistling of the wind, the numbing sensation in her fingers as the ropes dug into her skin and as the cold crept further up her body, there wouldn't be much time left and she soon would probably die of the intense cold that surrounded her like a tidal wave of death.

There was a small sound that she could barely hear and glancing down at the frozen water underneath her feet she could see the small cracks of the ice, it wouldn't be able to hold her weight much longer, and she could already feel the freezing breath stealing treacherous feeling of the raging water that laid beneath the ice. Letting her gaze drift to the village people she once called her only family, a single tear poured from her flushed skin and that's when she could hear the cracking of the ice underneath her and the feel of the once stable ice breaking away and moving.

_**O**_

His breaths came out as large clouds escaping from his open mouth as he ran. The white loose fitting tunic that he wore fluttering against his lean body, the tie coming undone and exposing his heaving chest. His shoulder length jet black hair had come undone from the cotton thong that had once held it together, he had to get to her before it was too late. He had to get to her before the ice broke and he lost her for good. Turning, InuYasha nearly fell into the thick white snow, but easily caught himself and trudged quickly on, he had to save his Kikyo.

It took him about ten minutes to get passed all the pine trees that towered against him, as if they were reaching up to the heavens for the salvation of the evils that suppressed the townspeople and their fickle beliefs. His feet were bare and the cold stung his feet each time they tread upon the harsh surface of the ground, sending pin like pain shooting up his leg and throughout the rest of his body. He could see the departure of the trees, he was nearing the open lake where the villagers would most likely be found, where Kikyo would be found.

A violent wind threatened to knock the panting InuYasha as he came to the scene at the lake. Kikyo stood like a stone in the middle of the lake, her clothes fluttering, her eyes hard and cold and the remains of a tear shinned in the morning light. Just as InuYasha was about to run onto the ice and scoop Kikyo up into his arms, taking off with her into the forest, he could see the shifting of the ice.

"InuYasha!" Kikyo smiled as she gazed upon her lover.

"KIKYO!" He yelled at the top of his lungs as he darted towards her only to have the village men grab his arms before he could step on the ice.

He struggled with all his might as he watched Kikyo helplessly. If it were only two or three people holding him back, InuYasha could have easily broken free, but everyone held him back, yelling at him like he was the one trying to do something irrational and against the morals of the town of Salem, disrespecting the people and most of all the Catholic church that bound their souls to the heavens of God himself. He screamed out to her again as the ice gave way underneath Kikyo and she fell into the murky ice cold waters below her.

The young man's eyes went wide in horror as he watched her disappear under the currents that licked the ice like the violent flickering evil that was a mundane yet roaring fire. A strangled cry escaped his throat as he found the strength to break free from his captors and rush out onto the ice, being carefully not to let the thin ice break under his own weight. He could see her midnight black hair and he tried to get to her, to pull her from the drowning water that held her prisoner, but it was no use. A few of the village men came after InuYasha determined to bring him back from the memorizing faith of the devil woman who had cast her evil spell upon him.

Howling in pain, InuYasha darted off to the other side of the lake and dashed into the comforts of the forest. He ran along side the river until he disappeared from the villager's sights. As he fled the howling of wolves could be heard returning InuYasha's distressed cry to the heavens and sure enough they came from out of the trees, their white fangs gleaming in the morning light as the villager's gasped in shock and disbelief.. They had seen InuYasha conjure the spirits of the devil himself.. They had killed an innocent woman because they now believed that InuYasha himself was probably the one who tried to hex their pious land..The one who had spellbound Kikyo into loving a beast of such horrifying nature.

InuYasha didn't know how long that his legs propelled him further and further into the abyss of the forest, leading in to the darkened depths of silence each second his frozen foot hit the ground. Sweat slowly poured down his face as he continued to follow the river bend, hoping that the ice would let up so he could go in search of Kikyo. He wasn't going to give up the only hope that he had left that let him believe that she was still alive after everything, alive in the ice cold waters of the unforgiving lake.

Eventually the sun was high up in the sky, little rays of light peeking through the thick foliage of the forest of trees that guarded the sky. Collapsing to his knees, InuYasha glanced down at the river, the calm water flowing like the wind itself. His chest restricted against his heart and he fought back the urge to break down and cry, but he couldn't because he was man, yet man was only mortal.

He sat there in the snow, his violet eyes keeping hold with the water in the lake, he wouldn't sleep, he wouldn't eat, he wouldn't do anything until he saw her once more. He couldn't push down the tearing feeling that coursed throughout his heart, the deafening pain that screamed in his veins. He had lost everything, his home, his hopes, dreams, and most of all he had lost Kikyo to the swirling waters of death and the greedy townspeople who had condemned Kikyo's innocent soul to the burning infernals of hell itself. Tears cascaded steadily down his face as he refused to blink, he just sat there, just sat there waiting for her to come.

A few days had passed and InuYasha had yet to move. It was a miracle that he was still alive, but in a way it wasn't because the white and gray colored wolves had been watching him since he had started watching the waters. Their eyes held nothing but sympathy for him and he swore that he could see the shadows of dark skinned men behind the beautiful dogs of the wild as they stared at him. Indians are what they were called by nature; people with their own sets of beliefs who lived off mother Earth herself, worshiping the ground they walked on and the gods that symbolized life.. Not something that one would spend countless hours sitting on an uncomfortable pew, listening to one man drone about how the "savages" were going to hell because they lacked the English intelligence and because they weren't white and literate.. If you'd ask him, InuYasha would have spoken nothing but blasphemy against the Catholic church and the beliefs of the church for he felt it was wrong.

Soon enough, his eyes fell closed and a heavy sigh fell from his lips. Running a hand through his tangled and somewhat greasy hair, InuYasha opened his eyes as a whimper sounded throughout the forest. Immediately his gaze caught the color of gray from the lake and he gasped out loud before jumping to his feet and running to the lakes edge to see Kikyo's bluish form laying face down in the lake as if she had drowned. Of course he knew that she had, but the hope left a crater in his heat because his dearest Kikyo was dead. Practically jumping into the cold water, he waded it way over to her and pulled her into his arms, her cold form made him shiver, but he didn't care, all that mattered was that he had found her. He felt as though the water was stabbing him over and over with sharp tiny little knives as he slowly headed out of the water and back out into the cold air of the world around him. At the moment, the water seemed warmer.

He began to walk aimlessly through the forest, knowing that if he stopped his feet would freeze to the snow and he too would die. Ordinarily it seemed that he would have wanted it that way, but something deep down inside his heart screamed for him to move, to find shelter and live on. It was as if there was a different destiny that lay waiting for him to discover and fulfill. Eventually stumbling upon a deserted cave in the heart of the forest, yet oddly near where the lake still ran, it was acting as if it was a lifeline.. never ending...never beginning, but just there none the less. InuYasha gathered the dry hay that some how lay in the farthest corner of the cave. He felt as though something had placed it there as if it was waiting for InuYasha to come and find it. Making a large fire out of barely nothing, he focused on his knowledge of hunting that his father had passed down to him and began to rub Kikyo's body trying to thaw her out.

InuYasha had seen many weird things in the span of his twenty or so years on the Earth, but the moment he cut away the ropes bound to Kikyo's wrists he spotted something very suspicious that looked like healing cuts, well at least they would have been healing if she was still alive. Tearing her sleeves past her elbows, InuYasha fingers the cryptic words, foreign to his knowledge, but recognizable, he had seen this form of language written somewhere that he couldn't place his finger one. Running his fingers over the unknown words, InuYasha could feel this deep burning sensation within his stomach and he didn't know what was the cause of it, so being InuYasha, he brushed it off and switched his gaze to the burning fire in front of him as the flames jumped around as if they were dancing the forbidden dance of freedom.

Even though he had wished that the two of them never had to part, InuYasha knew better than to indulge his selfish ideas and later that day, he took Kikyo's body to the most beautiful place where he dug a small grave and buried her. Despite the ground being frozen solid still, he was able to do it in a record amount of time, though something really did make him unnerved, even in the smallest way. While on the task of break the ground, no birds chirped, no sounds were made but the rustling of dirt, snow etc, and the heavy panting that sputtered from his lips as the sweat dribbled on his brow. The wind had been unnaturally violent and if he listened carefully enough InuYasha could catch a monotone voice seemingly whispering in his ears. The voice was that of Onigumo, but he like Kikyo, was dead too. The eerie slur of the words supposedly spoke made his flesh crawl and gave him the feeling of impending doom.

Eventually retreating back to the cave he had stumbled upon, InuYasha let his feet drag on the ground before he sat down and propped his head against the wall. He sighed heavily as he drew pictures and words into the dirt of the floor beneath him. This was a stressed filled day, not like the others weren't but oddly enough, he wasn't tired, he wasn't hungry and most of all something was nagging at him in the back of his mind.. Somehow something didn't seem right, but soon enough he let his eyes drift close and he feel into a deep sleep.

The snow began to fall again while InuYasha slept. The crystallized ice landed on the ground with no sound, leaving the air heavy with millions of others, all different in someway. As a calm breeze blew by a medium sized pale gray wolf stopped at the entrance of InuYasha's cave and cocked its head to the side, watching him intently as he slept like a baby. A quiet yip came from the animal's mouth and out of nowhere, a single man came from the brush. His long gray hair was tied up in a loose ribbon and his dark skin was rimmed with deep wrinkles. Pulling some of the different kinds of animal furs from a hidden burlap sack, the elderly man entered the cave, his moccasins not making even the slightest crunch as he glided across the floor to where InuYasha sate helplessly.

The man whispered a silent prayer as he draped the fur over the lad and placed a single green leaf on the non existent fire, only to have one erupt from out of no where and a blaze as if it had been burning for hours. The wolf whined and looked out from the mouth of the cave to the forest being covered in yet more snow. It would be a terrible storm coming and the elderly man knew it so. Placing the burlap sack down next to InuYasha the medicine man sighed heavily before bowing to the young man and walking over to the wolf and petting her head gently, stroking one of her ears in a comforting way.

"Go back to your village Kaede," The man said, "This boy will face his own destiny head strong and everything will come out like it has been described in my visions....Kitsune Fox wishes that I do not interfere and neither shall you...Go back to your home Kaede...Live a healthy life and keep watch over the young hanyou..."

The morning seemed to come too quickly for InuYasha as he stretched out his limbs and yawned loudly. Scratching his head, he gasped as his eyes caught a glimpse of silver. Taking his hair into his hands, he took a closer look at his hair, it was silver, and his hands, they had claws! Jumping to his feet faster than he thought humanly possible he looked around. Something had been there while he was sleeping because he could smell the scent of herbal medicine and that of a middle aged female... Running his hands through his hair seemed to be proved disastrous as soon as his hand came into contact with something soft, furry and small. They were dog ears!

Horror was the only emotion pulsing though his body as he ran like a bat out of hell towards the lake, he had to make sure that he wasn't having some kind of weird and crazy fantasy dream. The air whipped at his face as he ran at unnatural speeds towards the lake, which he reached in less than five minutes. Dropping to his knees and bracing the edge of the ground, InuYasha leaned his head over to see his reflection in the calm and shallow water. His breath hitched when he stared straight into the amber eyes of a person he didn't know, but somehow he knew it was his reflection.

The thing was; How in the hell did this happen? How did he mysteriously grow dog ears and his human one's suddenly disappear. How did InuYasha suddenly over night have claws, fangs, amber colored eyes, darker skin and speed of something only mentioned in the bible as Demonic power? What was happening to him? And the main question of all was: How could he go back to the village looking like this? Surely if the his neighbors and the other towns people saw him in this state, he would be thought of a murderous demon, then capture, and killed, no questions asked. Ramming his fists into the ground leaving small little craters where his fists lay, InuYasha let out a loud howl into the early afternoon sky, he would have to stay alone...He would have to survive of his knowledge and the instincts that now coursed through his demonic blood. He was like a dog in some twisted and sadistic way, but how long was he able to live like this before the villagers suspected something and came to destroy.. Because in the words of his honorable dad,

"Men are mortal...They fear what they don't understand, in fact it scares them and drives them to one solution....To destroy and conquer..." 

**_O_**

_**Okay that's if for this chapter! The next will be out as soon as possible..I'm hoping tomorrow, but I'm not making any promises. Please Review!! I helps me get in the mood to type up something new. **_

_**Until next time, Krystal.** _


	3. Chapter three

**This story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts around the year 1692.. The year of all the Witch hunts. :) It starts off as an InuYasha and Kikyo story..but things will change.. Please review and tell me what you think of this story... SO ON WITH THE STORY!**

**I know that this is out a little later than I said it would be, but it's hard for me to think of stuff up on the spot. I really hope that you like this chapter. It's longer than the others but I can't garrentee that the chapters to come will be as long. Always REVIEW! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, but I do own the plot to this story and everything else that hasn't got to deal with InuYasha and co.**

**Bewitched.**

**By Miztikal-Dragon**

__

_**Chapter Three**_

****Taking refuge in the forest, InuYasha relied on his new found strength and the wisdom of the Indians that he would come across every once in a while. It seemed to be that somehow this was that he had to do, it was this yearning deep within his soul that he had to strive on and keep hope in something that would eventually come after the long wait. The days passed like water flowing down the streams and yet everyday was a new experience filled with some type of lesson or another. He had learned to survive off of the harshest conditions that mother nature could muster up and worse.

The years seemed to pass by his amber eyes so quickly and before he knew it, the elderly medicine man known as Shippo had traveled to the great west, to find his place among the brethren that had passed on before. To a land of endless meadows, the golden glow of sunshine, and never one sad day full of regret, death or the "Catholic ways"; it was in other words heaven. Even if InuYasha was sentenced to be alone in the forest as some unforeseen punishment for something that he couldn't recall doing to deserve such fate, he kept an eye on the small and steadily growing townspeople of Salem.

They had disgusted him by the daily routine they did like a spinning wheel does when spun. The smells of some of the men were just putrid and sometimes he had to force himself to not heave up his lunch, yes his nose was just that sensitive. Over the last forty or so years that had come and gone, nothing had really changed. The people still acted the same with their greedy and malevolent ways. The children as well as the adults picked on the weak, and sometimes the young woman. The church still persecuted the innocent even more lately had been binding young woman and sending them to the gallows or some type of horrifying torture that InuYasha was able to listen to the painful screams of the victims. It was sickening, and yet he used to be among them.

He still wasn't able to tear his eyes from the town as he hid in the thick brush in the entrance of the forest, his skeptical eyes watching them like a hawk leering at its prey. Not many people were perceptive, but some could feel the "Devil's eyes" on their back as they worked, mainly the women. Sure the village men had come out in the past to hunt him down, and InuYasha would usually creep around their camp ground listening to their farfetched stories about the "White wolf", that was what they called him..

Of course just to spite what those foolish men had claimed, InuYasha would howl into the night and laugh in the murky and uninviting shadows as the men nearly had heart attacks at the spell of evil from the forest that gave such a valuable gift, the trees. The men had usually gone back to the village with their heads hung low, they had not killed what ailed their women, they were failures. That's when it hit, such greed that had InuYasha wishing that he could be ruthless and just mindlessly kill. He had witnessed something that he thought was never possible, the execution of the elderly healer known as Kaede. She had been merely a mother when Kikyo died, and at the ripe age of around seventy, she was taken from her home and tried as one of the same, a witch.

Anger had pulsed through him but he was powerless to stop them from executing her. He watched in a type of silent prayer as her eyes sullenly held gaze with his own. He knew her family was there, but had paid no attention to them because they didn't matter at the moment, the only thing that did was Kaede, but she didn't last much longer. All in all, the elderly woman had a sturdy rope pulled onto her neck. Thirteen loops in the noose, the traditional number for a hanging. Her hands were bound just like Kikyo's had been, she stared out into the unforgiving crowd, the timid look on her face showed that she was wiser beyond her years, but yet the man named Naraku made a simple flick of his wrist and it was all over. Kaede hung lifelessly from the rope that broke her neck, killing her instantly from the weight of her body, it was sickening the way these men acted as barbarians...Savages if you will.

His silver hair was barely passed his lower back, and kept up in a low ponytail when he went to hunt during the night, that was the only time where he was safe enough to rely on his animalistic and primitive instincts and pass easily through the foliage without even the faintest sound. Even though he only liked to travel at night, he always found himself at the entrance to the forest, an enticing aroma catching his nose. Never knowing what it came from, InuYasha would always brush it off until one faithful day when he first saw her.

He had been spying on the town when he heard an angelic laughter ring out not too far away from where he hid. He watched silently as two people came into his view, one female and one male. The girl could have been no older than sixteen by her looks, yet he couldn't see much because of all the clothes she wore. It wasn't proper for a child especially a female child to show off their skin besides the hands and face. It was unheard of to even let your hair be shown, or course for a man it didn't matter because they were "the boss", the "gatherer's" "providers of the family" and so on..

InuYasha became entranced by the girl's pale olive skin, her deep chocolate eyes and her lingering scent, it was of fresh herbs and a hint of peppermint. Her male companion made InuYasha frown angrily, but when a voice rung throughout the town, the girl smiled apologetically and sprinted back to what InuYasha believed to be her own cottage. Heading back into the forest, he sighed heavily, this angel was too good to be true, but yet he couldn't allow himself to think about anyone how he had thought about Kikyo because he still couldn't forgive himself for not saving her like he could have.

**_O_**

Night had approached all too soon for the village men as they gathered their pitch forks and their torches. Some kissing their wives and children good bye as some of the others held their large rifles closely to their bodies. They were going to go hunt the "White wolf" again tonight, because one of the village maidens had been spooked, then mysteriously fallen ill. Naraku led the group, being the mayor, and a preacher of the church it was his duty to make sure that this being from hell was hurled back into the infernal pits of fire where he had come from. A smile pursed his lips as he looked back at the towns people, he had promised them that this time they would get that fowl demon, that he would personally see to it that the new weapons from Jamestown worked as promised.

The ground crunched underneath their feet as a few men kept a close eye on the darkness that surrounded them. There was no telling what type of unholy beast would jump out and steal a man's soul, his only way to go through the gates of heaven. After about a good hour or so the men set up camp and had a roaring fire burning in merely minutes. Naraku scouted around the campgrounds placing crosses on trees to be sure to keep the evil spirits away from the honorable men who had volunteered to rid the town of the devil's minions. His cold eyes surveyed the area as his rifle hung lifelessly on his back, he could feel the "demon" watching him with those amber eyes of hate, of evil. Smiling widely, he grabbed the dagger in his breeches and through it out into the woods, none of the village men had come with him so there were no witnesses.

A growl of anger could be heard clearly and Naraku knew that he was hit. Grabbing the gun from his back, Naraku used his perfect vision to aim and then fire. The barrel of the rile exploded as the round bullet shot from the opening and darted into the darkness. There came feverish rustling from the brush as a few of the village men came panting to where Naraku stood kneeling, the gun placed expertly in the crook of his arm. Their pale faces regained their color as Naraku laughed, he had gotten the evil demon from hell and sent it back to its maker. They hooted and hollered as they clapped him on the back before heading back to camp to pack up. There would be a celebration once they got back, no exceptions.

**_O_**

InuYasha had no clue to what had hit his right shoulder but whatever it was, hurt like a mother fucker. He wanted to cry out in pain but bit down on his lip so the men wouldn't come to finish him off. His hand clutched the bleeding wound as he scrunched his eyes closed. That man, the mayor, had known where he was but how? InuYasha had stared into the man's cold dark eyes and the feeling of catastrophe was very familiar. It was as if he was staring into the eyes of the man who condemned Kikyo. InuYasha had been lucky to catch the dagger that was headed to his chest, but not fast enough to dodge the strange new weapon that had nicked him. Slowly getting to his feet, InuYasha struggled to make his way to the lake to clean his wounds. If he wasn't careful his blood would freeze in the harsh conditions of the snow.. How come when ever something went wrong for him it was almost always in the snow?

Once he reached the lake, he went about cleaning off his wounds, as well as shredding off the light fur shirt that he wore, it was stained with his blood and now deemed useless. Cupping the cold water in his palm, he brought it to his wound and cleaned the blood from his skin. By now his pea sized hole in his chest had stopped bleeding, the red liquid congealing around the wound trying to scab over but refusing with the metal still lodged in his body. Sighing heavily, InuYasha gritted his teeth before slicing open his wound further and inserting his index finger and thumb claws into his skin. It stung like there was no tomorrow, but eventually he was able to fish out the round bead. Putting the piece of metal into his pocket for later inspection, InuYasha continued to clean his wound in the crystal clear water of the ice cold lake.

Soon enough he found himself becoming unnaturally exhausted as he rested himself against the trunk of near by tree, almost completely hidden from view. Letting his eyes close momentarily, he sucked in a large breath before falling into a calm and peaceful sleep.

**_O_**

Morning had come and gone for the young woman about to exit her small little house. Currently she lived with her mother and grandpa, her grandma had passed away a few years back when the village men accused her of witchcraft. Now to Kagome being a medicinal healer wasn't considered being part of the devil because during the epidemic of small pox her grandmother had saved countless lives, but in the end she guessed it didn't really matter at all, because they still hung her. Pulling on the heavy wool clock over her small form, she smiled at her mother as her hand gripped the door.

"Kagome Don't forget your bonnet!" Her mother said in a warning tone, "Let's not forget what happened last time the village men saw you without it on! Its very unlady like!"

"Yes mama!" The young girl replied as she quickly grabbed the white bonbet from its tack and placed it over her long raven tereses, hiding her hair from view.

Stepping out into the fresh stinging cold air, Kagome secured her flimsy shoes and smiled as she glanced over the blanket of snow that had fallen over the night. Strolling over to the fire wood patch with a spring in her step, Kagome began to hum a silent tune as she placed with the white apron tied around her waist. The clothes she wore normally were always so itchy and uncomfortable and yet she didn't understand why she had to always wear something so uncomfortable. Brushing unwanted thoughts from her mind, she fixated her mind on the scenery around her.

Salem was a gorgeous place to live, she was surrounded by the thick foliage of the tall trees, sometimes it was so relaxing just to gaze upon the majestic beauty of the forest she was forbidden to enter due to the "evil demons" that hid, patiently waiting for a wandering soul to get lost. Scoffing at the mere idea of such rubbish, she began to gather some firewood in her apron, being sure not to dirty her clothing unless she wanted a lecture of not being neat and precise with her daily chores. Pulling a stray stand of her hair behind her ear, Kagome frowned when she heard an unfamiliar noise coming from someplace not too far from where she currently stood.

Glancing around she saw no one around her, but something shinny caught her eyes, and being naturally curious, Kagome dropped the firewood and headed over to where it lay in the pure white snow. As she neared it, her mouth dropped with horror, it was blood! Placing her small hand over her mouth, she crouched to her knees and touched the liquid. It was warm to the touch, whatever was bleeding probably still was and would get sick from the cold. Getting to her feet, Kagome cautiously looked around herself for spying eyes, finding none, she quickly followed the trail of blood into the forest not caring that what she was doing was against the town's law.

Now being Kagome, she was taught by her grandma that she was to help even the most frightening of creatures when it was injured because no matter what, mother nature would be watching good deeds and would never allow any harm to befall any person trying to help out the less fortunate. She had learned secretly how to make medicines and how to cure simple illness' though when her grandma was convicted of being a witch, Kagome stopped with everything, not wanting anymore "Shame" to befall their family, she didn't want her mother to suffer anymore heartbreak, nor her grandpa.

Going deeper into the forest, Kagome listened to the chirping of the song birds and the whistle of the wind as it blew passed her cold ears. The weather was becoming worse and she subconsciously shivered as she rubbed her arms to keep the warmth in them. The trail of blood had disappeared, but she kept going towards the direction of where she thought the hurt animal would be. She bit her lip as she thought about what could have happened to the animal, but brushed it off when she thought of death. Kagome knew that she had nothing to worry about in this forest because Naraku and the village men had assured the women that whatever demon had once been hiding in the trees was no longer living because Naraku himself had killed the vile beast.

A frown came to her face as she thought about Naraku. He had eyes of ice, yet he had the utter respect of the town, how that was possible was a mystery. The middle aged man served to be nothing but trouble, because even if he claimed to be a man of god, Kagome always got this feeling of evil when he was near. Maybe it was just the way he tended to leer at her with his hidden yet lust filled eyes, but no matter the situation, he scared her none the less. Of course it was well known by now throughout the town that Kagome was about seventeen and nearing the age of being married off, and every available man around was looking forward to "courting" her. Just the thought of being married off to one of the village men, especially Naraku made her stomach churn with a weird sickness and she felt the urge to wretch all of the contents of her stomach onto the floor, it was that much of a disgusting thought.

The ties that held her bonnet securely to her head had come undone and she did nothing to retie it because to her it was just an excuse to make a woman feel inferior to a man, and she believed that she was equal; she would never willingly submit to a man. Looking back at the way she had come, Kagome noticed that it was probably mid day and she had been wandering for probably hours. Her mother would be worried and yet Kagome found herself not really caring, something else was on her mind and she was currently on a mission, not wanting to stop and turn back, she strolled on until she reached the lake.

Carefully she kneeled at the water and cupped her hands below the ice cold water. It made her shiver, but none the less she brought her hands to her lips and sipped the liquid as it ran down her parched throat. Something rustled off to her side and she gasped springing to her feet frighteningly. At first all she saw was white and thought it to be nothing merely but snow, however she was wrong. The small patch of snow, moved and fell away revealing a young boy around her age, his long silver hair glistening in the sun as it fluttered. His tanned skin contrasted against his hair and as she wiped the water from her lips, his eyes opened and she her gaze locked onto his amber orbs.

Her breath hitched in her throat at this man's unnatural beauty when he climbed quickly onto his feet. He seemed just as shocked to see her as she did him, but the moment that she saw something move from on top his head, her eyes grew wider in horror as her hands clasped her heart, this boy had dog ears!

".it's a demon..." She whispered barely above a whisper, yet he still heard her as clear as day.

Kagome had heard many stories from her grandma about the so called "demons" that wandered the earth, yet she always refused to believe it possible until now. Her heart skipped a beat as the young man took a step closer causing Kagome to jerk back. Her loose bonnet came undone and silently fell the ground as her long ebony hair tumbled down from its bun, framing around her face as she continued to stare at him. Becoming unnervingly frightened by him, Kagome darted off back into the forest running as fast as her legs could carry her, trying to make it back to the town before the demon could catch up with her.

Reaching the town not too long later, she ran into her home as her grandpa and mother called for her. They had seen her exit the forest with a terrified look on her face and they grew fearful themselves. Because if anyone else besides them saw Kagome exiting the woods they would tell Naraku, and then he would begin investigation for witchcraft. Being that their name had already been dragged through the mud after one execution of their family they weren't sure if they could survive another death, especially if it happened to be Kagome.

"Gather some firewood and I'll tend to Kagome," The middle aged woman said wearily, "If anyone askes, she had become aill and will be bed ridden for a few days. No one is to know about her coming from the woods grandpa, no one must be allowed to know.."

The elderly man quickly agreed with his daughter as he gathered the wood and quickly, yet unconsciously went back into the small dwelling to begin the fire and to help tend to his probably possessed granddaughter.

**_O_**

InuYasha couldn't believe his eyes as he stared at the beautiful woman in front of him, she looked exactly like Kikyo and in all honesty, he believed that she was. He wanted to embrace her and kiss her, assuring her that she was okay now that they were together again. Yet the look in those chocolate eyes was nothing but fear and it tore at his heart. His hand reached out to touch her, and she jerked away revealing her long black hair. Almost forty years had past since he had seen her, but yet he felt as though he wasn't really looking at his old lover but at somebody completely different. Brushing that last thought from his mind, InuYasha went over to the forgotten bonnet that lay lifelessly on the snow and picked it up with his claws.

The lingering scent of medicinal herbs and peppermint filled his nose and he immediately remembered where he had seen her, she was the one carelessly laughing it up with the young male boy from the town. Jealousy sparked though out his being as he clenched the bonnet in his hands, his claws tearing through the fabric as if it were merely paper. Cautiously glancing down at his slowly healing wound, InuYasha contemplated when it would be fully healed so he could go to Kikyo's village and explain to her what had happened to him, even if she didn't understand he had to tell her that somehow he had been cursed.

**_O_**

_**Okay that's all for now! Please Review! **_

_**Until next time, Krystal. **_


	4. Chapter Four

_**Okay I made a big booboo in one of the previous chapters. I meant Puritains and not Catholic! lol so yeah..If you could just look over that small error it would be greatly appreciated! lol **_

_**There's some fluff in this chapter and I'm sooo sorry about the late update. :) This is one of my stories done on nothing but the computer so I have no clue to what happens until it's typed up! Thanks for all the reviews! I love you!**_

_**Oo and thank you for the person who told me that I was only able to get signed reviews and I took that off! SO SORRY FOR THE INCONVIENCE!!!**_

_**Chapter Four**_

The small house hold's charade of sickness worked like a charm and in the matter of a few days they had every towns member believing that the young maiden known as Kagome had really came down with a minor sickness. However, not everyone could be fooled easily and Naraku eventually took it upon himself to visit the young girl one day. His wide smirk pursed his lips and his black eyes bore into Kagome's as if trying to peer into her soul. Sometimes it was creepy the way that he stared, but alas she could do nothing about it.

Naraku was nearing the age of forty, a very well respected man, a type of holy man. He was practically the head honcho in the tiny village of Salem and it was unnerving, very unnerving. I mean it wasn't surprising to see the middle aged man starting to fawn over the young girl because Kagome was sixteen, she was at the age of legal marriage, for breeding. Many of the young men around the small village had had their leering eyes on her, some of them not so young.

Kagome somehow was unaware of this concept until the incident before she met the silver-hair demon, when she was alone with Koga. As soon as Kagome was "better" and her sickness gone, had Naraku been requesting for her to go on small walks with him, for harmless company, but yet deep down inside Kagome knew that something was really wrong with this man that there was something he was hiding by the way his attitude flared vengefully when angered. The snow seemed to be falling harder these days and it was getting colder. Some of the villagers said that it was Satin himself who was seething over the death of his demonic creation, but others new better than that rubbish. Ever since Naraku and the village men set off to kill the demon and come back successful their town seemed to fall into a shroud of uncertainty, the golden eyes never left, yet were never seen.

Switching to our other important character we see a "demon" of around sixty, his long silver hair fluttering in the cold air as his breath seeped out of his lips and became puffs of visible air. Ever since she had stumbled upon him, InuYasha had become infatuated with this young beauty. It probably was no more than a month that had gone by since he saw her terrified chocolate eyes locked with his, her long ebony tresses flowing around her in a swirl of black, she was the ultimate vision of beauty, well at least that's what his first impression of her was. It seemed like he was staking her out, watching her cautiously as he hid behind the thick foliage of the forest surrounding Salem. His quick feet gliding over the snow as he fought to catch an innocent glimpse of her tending to the horses in the stables, fetching the firewood near the entrance.

Sometimes it felt as though as she knew he was there watching her, but when she would look up to where he would be, InuYasha would have already changed positions, looking at her from a different angle, a different perspective during those moments. His wound had healed long ago and as he sat up on a high branch of a pine tree, InuYasha pulled the white piece of cloth from his pocket. It was a cotton bonnet, her bonnet. He leisurely fingered the material with his fingers, trying not to knick the fabric with his sharp talon like claws. Her wonderful scent filled his nostrils as he held the bonnet close to his face, and he could feel long forgotten and alien feelings stirring in his abdomen that left his mind blank and his heart filled with sorrow, he would always end up thinking about Kikyo.

Oh sure he knew it wasn't Kikyo, but the resemblance was sometime uncanny and everything she did reminded InuYasha of his lost lover. Sighing heavily he traced invisible patterns on the fur skin pants that he wore, there was no need to where shoes, but yet some how he felt as though as this was his destiny. This faded red deerskin clothing that really resembled the ancient Japanese Fire Rat Robe, but of course, there was no magic in InuYasha's clothes, for he still was cold, he still was able to be injured, he was still able to feel lost in a field of nothingness. His amber eyes held fast on Kagome's gray dress as it fluttered as she strolled in the snow close by her house, her pale features seemingly dancing in the scenery, she looked like an angel, one that InuYasha couldn't get enough of and that of what he wanted more.

Falling into a depressed state, InuYasha began to hallucinate, maybe it was the sickness called "pneumonia" that had caught up with him, but before he knew what was happening to him, he couldn't stop seeing Kikyo. She was just everywhere. It seemed as though he was slowly loosing his mind and soon enough two totally different females merged into one in his mind and the one nameless beauty that occupied InuYasha's mind had a name, Kikyo; His beloved Kikyo.

O

The night seemed to come quicker than normal and Kagome eagerly brought the firewood inside her small cottage like house as the cold wind snapped at her rosy cheeks, the weather was getting worse and soon there could be a blizzard. Going over to the small fireplace, she kneeled and placed a few logs into the flickering flames, somehow she knew that tonight would be along night. Her mother was placing the dinner plates on the table as Kagome went over to a near by basin and thoroughly washed her hands clean. The aroma of hot bread and chicken filled her nose and she sighed happily as she went to her mother's aide and placed the food onto the table.

Dinner had been quite relaxing for the young teenager and not too long after all the chores for the day had been finished and Kagome was able to unwind, she went into her small room and smiled as she collapsed onto the small cot that was called her bed. The sun had set long ago and as she slowly discarded her itchy clothing did her mother come in with the white soft material of her daughter's night gown. Kagome dressed and gave her mom a hug and kiss before climbing into her heavy blankets and settling down for the night.

A small candle flickered on the wooden nightstand and if she was quiet enough, Kagome could hear the whistling of the wind outside the log walls of her home. It was silent throughout the house and she knew that her family had retired for the night, and that she should too. Letting a tired yawn escape her lips, her eyes slowly closed and in no time at all she was lost in a light and restless sleep.

O

InuYasha watched from the entrance of the forest as the small town of Salem began to settle into the darkness of the night. People retiring to their homes as the fires were lit and doors were locked securely so no "demon of Satin" could slip unnoticed into their strictly religious homes and eat their children or steal their souls. He scoffed at the idea, but reluctantly looked down at his clawed hands; no matter what he would always be seen as a monster from hell itself, and sometimes he believed it to be the truth. As a gentle breeze blew his long silver hair in front of his eyes, he sighed before casting his gaze to the cottage not too far from where he currently stood; it was where she lived.

Waiting until it was dark enough so that none of the villagers would dare to venture outside, InuYasha gathered his courage and stepped out of the confinements of the border to his home. He was on a mission this late winter night, and as he headed towards her home he could smell the strong scent of herbs and peppermint and he had to smile at the way it brought butterflies to his stomach. His eyes darted around his surroundings, there was a foul stench in the air, but he couldn't place what it was. He knew it was of the holy man who called himself "Naraku" but yet it was so similar to some one that he had known when he lived in the village of Salem all those years ago. To him it seemed impossible since Naraku was about mid forties if that, and that about how many years InuYasha had spent struggling to survive in the uncharted forests around the small town.

Letting his instincts take over, InuYasha followed Kagome's scent until he came upon the place where it was strongest. Tilting his head curiously, he tried to figure out a way to where he could see her. His triangular shaped ears twitched as he listened for any sounds or movements, but heard none. Carefully, InuYasha went over to the door and using his clawed hands, he easily picked the lock and pushed open the door being careful not to wake anyone and to stay silent. There were many scents flooding throughout the small space and he inhaled deeply as the fragrance of the remnants of dinner, it had been a long time since he had a home cooked meal that didn't consist of fried rabbits and such.

His feet padded softly against the wood floor as he made his way to where her scent was strongest. InuYasha was feeling uneasy about practically breaking into her house, but he just had to see her up close, yes he was just that desperate and mental at the moment. He could plainly hear the shuffling that his clothes made as he walked and the deep and even breathing of her as he entered the pitch black room. Going over to her bedside, InuYasha watched cautiously down at the girl as she slept, her blankets curled tightly around her body, her hair sprawled out over the small pillow that her head rested on.

InuYasha became oddly nervous as Kagome rolled onto her back, her pale face smoothed out as she groaned in her sleep. His mouth went dry as he stared at her beautiful features, she really did look like an angel up close. Now he agreed with the village men that he had eavesdropped on and it kind of caused him to snort angrily as he folded his arms stubbornly over his chest with a cocky attitude. This little gesture caused more damage than what he thought because he immediately heard a sharp intake of air and his blood ran cold.

Bringing his gaze to the young maiden on the cot, he locked gazes with her terrified chocolate orbs as she clutched her blanket tightly in her fingers. Her other hand held her chest and as she was about to dart out of the room, InuYasha jumped onto the bed and clamped his hand over her mouth as a muffled cry escaped her lips. He didn't realize at first that he was straddling her waist pinning her to the bed in a not too decent position, but he wasn't going to get up when she could easily scream and wake up the whole town. He could hear her heart beating feverishly in her chest as her warm breath fluttered over his large hand. Her eyes were wide with fear, but she made no effort to move a muscle in anyway.

"Let's make a deal," He whispered in a hushed tone, "I'll remove my hand if you promise not to scream...okay?"

She seemed to be shocked that he was able to speak English, but none the less nodded her head, her eyes never leaving the amber ones that stared filled with uncertainty back at her. Slowly he removed his hand and got up off her and the first thing she did was dart out of bed and out of the room. InuYasha mentally groaned before he chased after her, catching her by the wrist before she could get any father than a couple feet outside her bedroom. Kagome let out a squeak as a large warm body pressed firmly against hers, blocking all means of escape. She would have screamed if she could, but her voice was against her at the moment and she couldn't speak even to save her life.

He was somewhat annoyed with her antics and before she could mutter any type of protest or anything else for that matter, he picked her up and put her over his shoulder before exiting her home and quickly running into the forest. Kagome had no clue to what was going on, but she could feel the cold air through the flimsy cloth of her nightgown nipping at her body as she stared at the ground that flew passed her eyes, he was as graceful as a bird. It wasn't long until InuYasha stopped at the cave he resided in and placed Kagome down on her feet. She wasn't sure how to react to this strange being that had kidnapped her from her home, but in a way she was entranced by his very presence.

She noted his long silver hair that reached his backside and the somewhat tanned color of his skin, how it was able to tan when it constantly snowed was beyond her, but who was she to complain. The silver triangular ears that protruded from the top of his head twitched as she continued to silently "check him out" and she couldn't tear her eyes away from the amber orbs that he had once she had glanced up at them. Sure he was very well built, and really strong by the whole fact that he was faster than anything she had ever seen and it had seemed unnerving easy for him to just throw her over his shoulder and run like the wind to a cave deep within the forest surrounding the small sleeping village of Salem, Massachusetts.

"W-what are you going to do to me?" She asked in a small voice shaking with fear.

"I don't understand how you're here...I watched you fall into the lake...I watched you die all those years ago Kikyo...How can you still be alive and look so young?" InuYasha answered her question with one of his own, not really being too perceptive that this wasn't one of his awkward nightmares.

Kagome was becoming afraid of the demon that was standing in front of her, he was delusional and would probably take over her body and steal her soul. Backing up, she looked around trying to find any means of escape, but when he stepped closer to her with a concerned and hurt look on his face, her mind drew a blank and she couldn't move from her spot.

"Kikyo," InuYasha said quite brokenly, "It's me InuYasha...I don't what happened to my body after you fell into the lake, but I transformed into-....into this monster....I don't know how I got this silver hair and these demonic features...b-but I-I did...I'm sorry that I'm so hideous...I never wanted you to be afraid of me...."

She watched InuYasha carefully as he hung his head, the long silver hair of his falling over his shoulders; for some reason it was almost heart-breaking to see anyone this upset. Even though Kagome didn't know him, she never once thought he was anything close to being a hideous creature, no on the contrary, she thought he was a magnificent example of beauty, hell she was envious. Doing the first thing that came to mind, Kagome gently placed her hand on his shoulder in a comforting way and as his eyes darted to hers, she could see the insecurity and she pitied him for the mental pain he had to endure.

"I don't think that you're anywhere near hideous...It's just that no one in the village or the world for that matter has features like you do...I-I didn't know how to react when I saw you..."

Kagome could plainly see the inner turmoil in his eyes and before she knew what was happening, he had taken her into his arms for a tender embrace, his face pressed up against the apex of her neck, his arms wrapped securely around her waist. She was in a total state of shock as her hands desperately clutched the material of his fur-skinned shirt, her face was flushing a bright red. It was a fact that Kagome had never been held so because in the eyes of the town it was improper and even though her mind said that she should fear for her life, she could feel the scorching heat that traveled throughout her body. She felt herself struggling against her own body not to give into this demon, but the ache in her heart told her otherwise.

As He pulled away, InuYasha could see the blush on her face and taste the scent of something that he had never smelled before. Releasing her from his grasp, InuYasha carefully ran one of his clawed hands through Kagome's long ebony hair before moving down and brushing his fingers against her cold cheek. Her breath hitched at his touch and her skin was immediately on fire as she locked gazes with his intense eyes, she didn't know what he was doing to her, but he was setting off new and alien feelings in her body.

InuYasha had moved closer to the warmth emitted from her body, he was acting completely on his animal instincts as his hand slowly moved down to her neck. Her eyes seemed to flicker with fear as he came closer, but he didn't stop with his movements; InuYasha wasn't too sure if he could stop. As his head lowered to hers, Kagome found herself closing her eyes as his breath came upon her lips. Whatever the feeling that she was feeling, she couldn't bring herself to move away, and it wasn't like she really wanted to anyway. Then that's when it happened, his lips brushed gently against hers and something seemed to feel so right. Kagome returned his gentle kiss and before she knew what was going on, his strong arms were holding onto her hips as he pushed himself more firmly against her.

Kagome could feel herself instantly melting into InuYasha, it was as if they were meant to meet each other, it was unnerving, but she quickly brushed it off as she felt his tongue shyly sweep against her mouth begging for entrance. Just as she was about to comply she heard the loud howling of a wolf and she was suddenly pushed away from him, a large blush covering her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around her shoulders in shock. InuYasha looked horrified as he turned his head to where the howl came from, something was up. As he returned his amber eyes to her face he seemed to be overly nervous, jumpy. Carefully he came over to her and tugged her tense body into his chest as he slowly began to rub her back comfortingly.

"I have to take you back to the village before someone knows you're gone," He stated, his voice calm and soft. "I don't want anything to happen to you so you can't tell anyone that you've seen me..Promise me you won't tell anyone...Or we'll both be in enormous trouble..."

"I....I-I promise.." She managed to choke out in a whisper before she felt a sharp pain in her neck and everything turned black.

Carefully gathering the unconscious female into his arms, InuYasha held her close to his chest as he leapt into the sky headed for the village before they would wake and find her missing, he didn't need another woman to die, he didn't think that he would be able to live through another one.

O

Time slowly begins to pass and since their first actual meeting, InuYasha and Kagome have become good friends. Every late night after the town had gone to sleep and all the fires have died down, Kagome would quickly throw on the heavy cloak and sneak out from her house and quickly run to the entrance of the forest, of course always being cautious enough to make sure no one was around to catch her. InuYasha had explained that she was never to be seen, and she herself understood why. Normally they talked to each other, telling the other how their day had been and it all seemed to be heaven for them.

There were even sometimes when InuYasha would take Kagome into his arms and hold her close as he jumped into the trees, showing her the world around them, showing her that in a way how to fly. Months steadily passed and soon Naraku had began to watch her even more than before, and during the Sunday church sermons he would talk about the ten commandments, and how and what were expected of someone in order to be able to go to the gates of heaven instead of the fiery pits of hell. He would stare at her for long periods of time as if she had grown a second head, and lets just say she was putting two and two together, he was becoming suspicious of her. That wasn't all either, it seemed to be that everyone was keeping a closer eye on her. Koga sometimes would wait for her and cling to her without touching her of course, but he always wore a frown as if he was looking for something or displeased...Kagome was becoming very uncomfortable with everyone around her and their tense accusing eyes. So of course her time with InuYasha was drawing to an end, where there were eyes there was surely money.

The weather was beginning to act up again as a year passed by and yet another unwelcoming winter crept upon the people of Salem. It was late and Kagome pretended to be peacefully sleeping in her bed as her mother came into the room and quietly blew out the lit candle. The teenaged girl was becoming very nervous, she felt as though the platonic relationship between her and InuYasha was no longer there; she could see the way he looked at her, the way his eyes sparkled with life whenever she would catch him accidentally staring at her. She wondered about everything that he had told her, how he had become the way he was, how everything had happened. At first she couldn't believe the injustice that was done to him, but in a way she was thankful that it happened because she now had him there for her.

The snow crunched underneath her feet as the wind blowing against her body. She pulled the heavy wool cloak closer to her form as she tried to fight off the pin pricks of cold that jabbed her body. Kagome could barely make out the snow underneath her feet as she carefully walked towards the entrance of the forest. He would be waiting there for her, she was sure of it because he was always there. Minutes seemed to pass like hours and soon enough she had finally made it to the entrance of the "forbidden" forest that surrounded Salem, but very layer to the Devil's castle as Naraku put it during his last sermon. Rubbing her hands feverishly, she tried to keep her body heat that was quickly fading, he had yet to arrive.

Sighing heavily as she waited patiently, Kagome paced back and forth to keep her blood moving, her grandmother always told her never to stop for too long while out in the show for a long period of time, no sense on freezing to death if you have common sense. Turning around to begin her pacing again, Kagome had her head hung and immediately ran into that of a hard yet soft chest causing her to stumble and fall onto her bottom. Gasping, she quickly lifted her gaze to the figure and the moment she saw his amber eyes staring down at her with a mixture of shock and curiosity, a smile purse her lips and she let out a relieved exhale.

InuYasha helped Kagome to her feet and she quickly brushed the snow from the large cloak, he was always able to startle her, no matter how vigil she was he always out smarted her somehow. The first thing that InuYasha had noticed when he looked down at Kagome was the brightness of her rosy cheeks, she had been waiting a while for him. It wasn't that cold out, but his body was different from hers and he quickly drew her into his arms and held her close to his chest as he tried his best to warm her body with his heat.

"Why did you come out tonight Kagome?" He asked in a hushed scolding whisper, "You know it's not safe for you to be doing this..."

"I know..but-but I had to see you again InuYasha.." She replied hiding her face deep into his chest as her hands clasped the front of his shirt like it was her last life line.

"What about Naraku? Or the villagers?" InuYasha said stubbornly as he laid his chin on top of her covered head, "You know what will happen if they find you out here, and with me none the less.."

"I know, but I don't care!" Kagome argued pulling him closer as her ear rested on his chest, listening to the quick pounding of her InuYasha's heat beat. "Let them find me...I don't care what happens to me as long as I'm able to be with you InuYasha.."

Silence engulfed the couple and soon enough InuYasha pulled away as he cupped Kagome's cheeks in his clawed hands, feeling the coldness creeping even more so onto her frozen skin. His amber eyes softened as he stared into her eyes becoming lost in the chocolate orbs that had infatuated him since the very beginning. Before either of them knew what was happening, they could feel the warmth pouring from the other's lips as it caressed their faces and as the space between their bodies diminished, InuYasha's hand shakily traveled down Kagome's back to her hip where he pulled her to him as his lips brushed innocently against hers in what first seemed to only be a chaste kiss.

Finding themselves locked into each other's embrace as their lips molded together, Kagome could feel the warmth spreading throughout her body, especially where InuYasha's fingers brushed. A blush rose to her cheeks, but she did nothing to stop his advances, on the contrary, she pushed herself more firmly into his grasp and the moment his tongue swept over her mouth, Kagome was impatient and immediately need more of his touch. The world around them seems to stand still as it was all quiet, and it could have been the most perfect night in their very lives had not one person decided to follow his instinct.

O

He watched Kagome as she left her dwelling, it was really late and he didn't know why he himself was still doing up and completely dressed, but something deep down in his guts told him that he had to keep an even closer eye on his Kagome than before. The cold weather didn't affect him as he followed her from a distance, far enough away not to get caught and yet close enough to keep track of where she was heading to. At first he was shocked beyond belief when she stopped at the entrance to the forest, but yet he had a feeling that this wasn't going to be the worst of his troubles this night.

Seeing something coming near his beauty, Koga his behind an enormous pyramid of chopped fire wood and watched with curiosity, with a hope that it wasn't what it seemed to be, that his beloved Kagome wasn't going towards the woods and that he was having some unimaginable nightmare. Once Koga saw the long silver hair that fluttered through the small breeze he had his answer, that thing that his Kagome was meeting was in fact a demon. Thoughts ran throughout his mind one worse than the next as possible punishment for Kagome's behavior at the time. His dark brown hair tickled his nose as the small pony tail had become loose, they would defeat the non puritan ways, there was no escape against the witches that had once plagued Salem.

Koga rubbed his eyes in disbelief the moment that InuYasha hugged Kagome, and held her close. He just couldn't accept the fact that she would allow some impure demon to touch her as he pleased, but Koga a respected puritans not to mention very handsome and wealthy son of a land owner could only look; it was absolutely absurd. Not able to tear his electric blue eyes away from the scene not too far from where he hid, Koga almost howled in rage as the anger filled his very bones. How could she let something so filthy get close, to something that was untouched? He couldn't completely hear the conversation between them but the next thing that he knew both Kagome and the demon (InuYasha) were kissing passionately as if old lovers, kissing only like a married couple should under the "town of god". Of course Koga had known that Kagome was sneaking out at night, but he had never imagined beyond his wildest dreams that she would betray her town for such a beast that couldn't have been created out of anything good, but only of the darkness and sorcery of Lucifer himself.

Trying to regain his composure, Koga stupidly climbed to his feet and before he could take two steps, a twig breaks under his feet and the dog ears from the InuYasha's ears on top of his head twitch suspiciously and he released Kagome to stare into the eyes of Koga. Kagome glanced to see what InuYasha is looking at and gasps in horror at the sight of a type of vengeful Koga. Trying to hide her guilt she can hear InuYasha growl deep into his throat and Koga takes off back into the village, not a word was said between the two men or anyone for that matter. Kagome's eyes begin to fill with tears as she droped to her knees in shock, she was found.

Worriedly InuYasha kneeled next to Kagome and pulled her back into his arms as he holds her close, lifting her out of the cold snow and calmly hushing her tears, kissing them away before they have a chance to fall from her chin. Stroking her hair gently, Inuyasha picks Kagome up bridal style and sighs heavily before leaping into the air towards Kagome's house, he had to take her back before Koga could wake any of the other townspeople. On the inside he was hysterical, but on the outside he had to be strong, he couldn't let Kagome know how worried he was about the outcome, he didn't want to have to go through another death of a woman that he had grown to love, he couldn't bare to loose her now, or ever.

Nearing her house within minutes, InuYasha placed Kagome onto her feet and gave her one last hug before he held her at arms length away and stared into her eyes with a sad determination, reluctantly clearing his dry throat.

"You can't come visit me anymore Kagome," He said in demanding tone, "You have to stop because if you don't and Koga tells anyone, you will be hanged."

Tears poured down her pale face as she stared at the ground unable to keep her gaze on him at all, "But I can't give you up InuYasha...I just can't..it's not fair!"

"Please Kagome," InuYasha practically begged her, "Don't come to the forest looking for me anymore..Don't try to keep this up anymore.. I don't want anything to happen to you! I don't want to see you die..."

Throwing herself onto his chest, Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck as she buried her head into the nape of his neck, not ever wanting to give him up, but knowing other wise. "I don't know what to do InuYasha..I'm so scared.."

"Promise me that you will stay away from the forest Kagome.." He demanded wrapping his arms around her fighting against his own tears, kissing her head. "Promise me that you'll stay alive...Just promise me.."

"I promise InuYasha...I promise I will for you..."

O

Ouch and that's what I call angst! lol Please review and leave your comments, Flames are welcomed...

Until next time, Krystal.


	5. Chapter Five

_**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha and I never will but I do own the plot to this story and all the evil goodness!**_

_Okay so here's the long awaited chapter to this story. I really hope that you like it.. It follows the basic Angst that I'm good for and I hope that you like it. Please read carefully because this chapter ties back to chapters one and two. It's not exactly the same but there is some very **important** similarities that I really hope you notice. Well so why don't you read it and find out for yourself? _

Bewitched

By Miztikal-Dragon

_**Chapter Five**_

**_M_**orning had come to quickly for Kagome and when her mother came to her room and gently shook her away, the teenager couldn't bare to get out of bed. She wished that she could just waste away because she couldn't have what she desired most. Crawling out of bed a few minutes later, Kagome quickly washed her body in the small basin by her door and donned yet another itchy gray dress and a white apron. Pulling on a new bonnet and hiding her long ebony hair, she tried to keep her mind from straying to him, but couldn't help it. InuYasha was all that she could think about, he was the only thing that kept her sane through all the bad times. Slipping on her clog like shoes, she kissed her mother goodbye and headed to the school house for the daily lesson.

She had hoped that Koga would talk to her, but he didn't. When ever he would look her way, there was that disgusted expression on his face that made her feel guilty and her heart sunk lower into her stomach by the hour. By the time the appointed teacher had finished for the day, Kagome quickly darted after Koga who seemed to be leaving before anyone could get up out of their seats. Catching him half way down the road, she placed a gentle hand onto his shoulder only to have him roughly shrug her off and glare at her with pure hatred.

"Keep your hands off me woman." He growled holding the reading book closer to his form.

"Please Koga I have to talk to you," She begged trying to hold back her tears, "Please just give me a moment to explain myself...Please..."

He wanted to throw her to the ground and whip her for her actions, Koga wanted to yell and scream till he was blue in the face telling his precious woman how wrong it was to sign the black book of the devil. How it was wrong to give Lucifer the pleasure of her pure body and soul just for something stupid. He could see the tears waiting to fall from her face and he began to cave. He had always been a softy when it came to beautiful women, and so had his father and his father before him. Sighing heavily as he pinched the bridge of his nose, Koga growled.

"Fine, I'll let you speak woman."

Kagome's mind screamed as she fought for words to say, she didn't know how to save herself and honestly she didn't want to . The only reason she was going to be the boy in front of her not to say a word was because InuYasha didn't want her to have to go through what he had to, she was doing it because she had grown to love the man with amber eyes and long silver hair. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind and focused on the task at hand, she had to destroy what was left of her honor in front of this boy and beg for him to keep silent.

"Please Koga," She began, "Please don't speak of the devil in Salem....Don't say anything about last night at the forest... Please I beg of you...Do you know what Naraku will do to me if he finds out something like this...Please I'll do anything, just don't tell anyone.."

"Why should I?" Koga spat crossing his arms over his chest superiorly.

"I'll surly be hanged if you tell!" She whispered keeping her voice down in order not to draw any attention to their conversation.

Koga didn't want to think about the possibilities of what would happen to her if she were to be guilty of witchcraft, but he wanted to put her in her place, show her that no woman could ever do anything that a man could...She would have to live with the shame that she had caused for herself. Thinking long and hard about both the ups and downs of this troublesome situation, Koga finally thought of something that he could agree with and she would just have to go along with it, but that wouldn't' come until later, though not too much longer.

"I won't say anything for now Kagome," He said still jealous about not being the first person to touch the teenage girl before him, "But you mustn't ever go back to the forest for anything. If you do I will have to go back on my word and you will pay for your crimes upon the town of Salem...And then not even I can save your soul from the torments of hell...Do I make myself clear?"

Kagome nodded, how was she able to speak a word if she could barely hold herself strong in front of him. Her life was crumbling around her feet and she didn't know if she was going to be able to pick up the pieces. Giving Koga a smile, she excused herself and headed home. She needed time to think about the rush of things, how had it gone so wrong? Completely lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize what was going on around her until her mother placed a gentle hand on her shoulder snapping her out of the world of depression.

"Don't worry about helping me with dinner tonight my love," Kagome couldn't feel any worse than she did now, "Just go clean up and take a breather...You look as though you've lost your mind.."

"I feel as though I have lost my heart." She whispered going to her room.

The night had endlessly dragged on and at the dinner table her mother had explained how Kagome was to go over to Naraku's house and clean because he had personally asked for her assistance. Kagome didn't think anything of it and brushed it off as she ate her dinner and went immediately to bed, crying herself to sleep. If this was how she was going to live, feeling alone and dead inside, then it would have been better off if she hadn't lived at all.

O

Morning had seemed to come quicker than normal but Kagome rose on schedule, she was a busy girl and she had things to do. She had washed herself, eaten and dressed in a mechanical way, she was lacking any emotion and it showed in her eyes. Her mother had questioned her, but Kagome shrugged it off and continued on doing her morning chores before she would head over to Naraku's and clean his home like he had asked. Slipping on her shoes and pulling on her bonnet, Kagome kissed her mother goodbye as well as her grandfather and headed outside to the warm sunlight.

The weather was completely opposite of what she felt, but she quickly headed towards the center of town where Naraku's home stood tall next to the church. She had only been to his place a couple of times but it reminded her of what her grandmother used to call an old library. The house had a musky old paper scent and was filled with text books and dictionaries of every sort.. Naraku had been a "Harvard" scholar. The gravel crunched loudly underneath her shoes and even if it was a warm day she was cold. The snow had melted some and left the ground around it with mud. Some of the small village boys were running around covered in it as their mother's called for them to come inside and clean up.

Reaching Naraku's house, she calmly went to the door and knocked lightly. She didn't want to be there and it gave her creeps the way his house had the eerie wind blowing by, it was as if there wasn't something quite right with the man. The door opened a few minutes later and she kept her eyes glued to her feet, she didn't want to look at him.

"Why hello Kagome my dear," He said in sickeningly sweet tone, "You've arrived just on time. Why don't you come in?"

Kagome didn't answer but cautiously stepped into Naraku's house and waited for further instructions. She kept trying to brush InuYasha from her mind, but it left a painful hole in her heart when she remembered him saying that he didn't want to see her anymore.. It was like a stab into the heart and all she wanted to do was cry. Not realizing that Naraku had been speaking to her, Kagome was suddenly brought out of her stupor when a large hand brushed against her cheek. Darting her gaze to Naraku's cold black eyes, he gave her a sly grin and ushered her into the living room where she sat down on the chair that he pointed out to her.

"Now Kagome." He said calmly all emotion drained from his voice. "I have not called you hear to clean my home.."

"You haven't?" She asked bewildered.

"Nay I haven't." He stated standing in front of her, "I would like for you to read to me for a few hours a day.. I love to read myself, but in aging, my eyes are not what they used to be and I would like to hear your sweet voice reading the words to me.."

_'NO!'_ Her mind screamed at her, _'Tell him no! I don't want to read to him! He is nothing but a scary old man! How can he be here? There is something about this house that makes me think that he is not human! I need to get out of this place and run as far as my legs can carry me! I must leave this village and just run!'_

She never voiced any of her thoughts and nodded contempt at Naraku's request. No matter how much her every being was against it, she had too. If she didn't he would start suspecting something and Kagome didn't want the villagers watching her any more closer than what they were doing now.. It was as if they were trying to catch her slipping up in her well hidden façade.. Well hidden yeah right... That's how it started, Kagome would come to Naraku's a little after noon and he would invite her in. She never spoke much, but he always eyed her carefully as he handed her the desired book that she was going to read to him. Hours would drag on and she would leave before sunset.

Nobody in the village seemed suspicious about that, they would give her a genuine smile and wish her good health, nobody care that she went to the minister's house for hours. A week or so passed and that is all that would happen, daily lessons had been forgotten, and Kagome's life seemed to be revolving around Naraku. He didn't want to have her out of his sight, and he was always around her. It was sickening. Koga had stopped glaring at her with persecution, seeing how she had her soul saved by him. But all of it didn't matter to her anymore, Kagome didn't want to live the life she was living now, she didn't want any of it. Everyday seemed empty and she missed InuYasha so much that she would cry herself to sleep every night and fall deeper into her depression. The only thing that she could think of was that she had fallen into a one-sided love, but she couldn't bring herself to accept it and move on.. He had changed her and in a good way; well at least that's what she thought.

Sitting down on the floor with a book propped in her lap as she read aloud she could feel his eyes boring holes into her body and she fought against all urges to shudder. There may have been a fire roaring in the fire place and a completely full cup of water at her side, but she was freezing and thirsty, but she refused to drink. Kagome heard Naraku move and the next thing she knew he was sitting down in front of her, his hands closing the book and putting it next to him. Bringing her gaze to his, she felt his clammy hands take hold of hers and squeeze them gently. Her mind was screaming for her to break free that something wasn't right, that he shouldn't be touching her hands so familiarly, but she was frozen in place. Stuck by her fear of what he would do if she rejected his touch.

"Kagome," He whispered hoarsely as he leaned closer, "I have listened to your beautiful voice now for days and I cannot help but find myself falling in love with you.. I've watched you grow up, but now I want to watch you grow old with me.."

_'Get out of there!'_ It wasn't her voice that rang out in her mind but InuYasha's. She couldn't move as she stared at Naraku and his evil smirk. She felt as though her throat was closing up and cutting off all the air to her lungs, she felt as though she was going to die. The foreboding air around her was suffocating her and she thought that she was going to die, she needed to get out.

"What are you saying?" She asked, her voice coming out softer than a whisper.

"I'm saying Kagome, that I would like for you to be my wife.." It wasn't a question but to her it seemed like a threatening demand.

"I-...uh..-I.." She could put her words together "I gotta go.."

Jumping to her feet, Kagome opened the door and ran out into the fresh air. She couldn't believe her ears, they were burning with the words that Naraku had spoken. He wanted to marry her, and Kagome knew that he wasn't asking by the look in his eyes, he was demanding that she accept his proposal. Never stopping, Kagome ran down the road, her mind not able to comprehend what she had just heard, she was refusing to understand what Naraku had asked. She was so wound up in her own thoughts as she ran that she didn't hear Koga calling after her, she probably wouldn't be able to hear anything for a while the way her mind was racing.

Kagome wanted to go running into the forest and scream out her overwhelming emotions, but she had told Koga that she wouldn't and she just couldn't go back on the promise that she had made to InuYasha. Going into her house, she didn't speak a word about anything and went straight to her room where she collapsed on her bed and cried until her eyes burned and her head throbbed. She wasn't able to keep composure any longer. If things continued on like how they were, she would go absolutely bonkers. It was a while after she had come home that she cried herself into unconsciousness all the while both her mom and grandfather watching her with worried eyes from the doorway.

The night had come slowly and when Kagome finally opened her eyes, she had everything somewhat planned out. Finding herself already dressed in her nightgown, she tossed on her cloak and as quietly as she could, snuck out of her house. It was cold and she knew that it would snow later. Not looking back, Kagome took off barefoot into the forest, she needed to see InuYasha and even if it was breaking the promise she made she had to because she just couldn't stand to see another day go by without him. Her chest heaved and her white nightgown fluttered behind her as she ran. Tall trees were everywhere and some snow covered the ground sending cold pricks of pain through her feet as they collided with the white cold substance. But she kept running.

_'Please InuYasha come for me!'_ Her mind pleaded as she felt the wind against her cheeks, _'Don't abandon me when I need you the most. Please come for me!'_

She could see the tall trees around her letting up and she immediately knew that she was nearing the lake. It would be frozen over so she wouldn't have to go around the long way to InuYasha's cave and it would mean that soon her cold feet could find warmth at his roaring fire. Completely forgetting about the tree root that stuck up out of the ground that would be hidden underneath the snow, Kagome's foot caught on it and she went tumbling to the ground, her loud scream piercing through the night. She rolled down a small hill that lead to the lake and hit her head on a near by rock as she slid out onto the middle of the ice. Her limp body lay sprawled over the ice, her ebony hair covering her face as her nightgown fluttered in the wind as the snowflakes began to fall to the ground. Kagome had been right, it was going to snow, and now she lay unconscious on the lake nothing but the coldness and darkness around her giving no sense of comfort.

O

InuYasha had been sitting near the fire for hours now, his clawed fingers tapping relentlessly against his thigh, there was a bad feeling welling up in his stomach but he wasn't able to put his finger on it. At first he thought it to be just nerves on the impending storm heading his way, yet it didn't feel like a natural storm. Sure he could smell the fresh snow falling from the air, the warmth of his fire kept his cheeks a rosy red and his blood running, but something was amiss. It had been a week since he had last spoken to Kagome, since he had held her in his arms and caressed her face with his fingers and he missed her. Of course he had been watching her from the boundaries of the forest as much as he could, but he always had to remind himself that it was all that he could do now, was watch.

He was torn from his thoughts as a faint scream through the wind reached his ears and his blood ran cold. Many random thoughts came to his mind as he thought about the possible reasons for the scream and the first one was that Kagome was in trouble. His eyes darted around cautiously as his ears swiveled around his head straining to hear anything else. When no sound came his tried to swallow the lump in his throat, it wasn't working too well. Going to the mouth of the cave to stare at the scenery, InuYasha tried to get his mind away from the depressing and unnerving plaguing his mind but it didn't work when he heard the wolves crying into the night. They seemed to be calling for him to the lake, howling as if the land was going to fall into constant darkness, being swallowed by the evil of night for all eternity.

Following his instincts, InuYasha leaped into the wilderness surrounding him, something was not right and his heart was racing with anticipation and insecurity. The air around him was deathly cold and it felt as if the night was trying to suffocate him and he was covered in a cold sweat before he had even started out on his little excursion. As he ran InuYasha could have sworn that he could feel the gaze of sinister eyes watching him, boring into his back as he struggled to find whatever it was that was making him feel as though part of him was dying. Whatever it was he had to find it and by the racing of his heart he had to find it fast.

Jumping through the trees, he could smell her near by and he cursed himself mentally. She had gone back on her word and was there in the middle of the night in the darkness of the forest where anything unnatural could get a hold of her. Honestly was she that stupid? Well whether she was or not, he would give her a piece of his mind when he saw her. Landing swiftly on the ground next to the frozen lake, he let his eyes survey his surroundings in front of him. Kagome's cloak lay half buried in the freshly fallen snow right where the trees opened, but she was no where in sight. InuYasha could feel the panic stirring in his heart and he became desperate. Where the hell was she?

Turning around he gazed out onto the frozen lake and he wanted to cry out as he stared at Kagome's unmoving body under the snow, her hand laid there limply looking as if she was trying to read out to him, her hair covering her face. Her skin was pale and she looked as if she was dead. His breath hitched in his chest as he relived his nightmares yet again. It couldn't be Kagome on the ice, it was Kikyo, she was standing there like she had forty years ago, her hair fluttering into the wind as her arms lay bound behind her back. Her dress flapping about her body as her cold and hard staring at him exposing the tears that she had cried for them. It was all too real for him to comprehend.

He could hear the faint cracking of the ice and the pinpricks of pain in his knees from the crouching position he had been in for a while, and he swore upon the heavens that he could hear Kikyo's soft voice whispering his name into the depths of the night as she disappeared from his sight and all he could see was Kagome's body laying on the ice, small lines dancing around the ice. It was going to give way under her body weight!

"Kagome!" He cried out as he darted for her. He'd be damned if he let her go the way that Kikyo had, being stolen from him by the icy cold water's clutches with out any remorse. Nature could be a different version of a torturous hell of damnation.

Scooping her numb body into his arms, InuYasha gazed at her face with concern with the pale blue color of her lips and the faint beating of her heart, she was going to die of hypothermia if he didn't get her to the fire raging in his cave soon. Shivering at the feel of her body against his and not it the good way, he stepped only to feel the icy giving underneath his weight. The ice was cracking faster than before and he didn't have enough time to move before it split and the icy water seemed to grab his ankle and drag him and Kagome underneath the icy into the unforgiving and freezing waters below. They were both swallowed by the lake.

O

Okay so I know that it is a little shorter than normal but I couldn't help it. At first this isn't what happens, but I didn't really like the other version so I changed it and thought that this would be much better! SO sorry that there was no fluff in this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think. I would appreciate some feedback. And thank you to everyone who has reviewed! You're the best that a gal like me can ever hope for!

_**So until next time, Krystal.**_


	6. Chapter Six part A

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own InuYasha, so please dont sue me!

_I know that I haven't updated this in a while but with a major writer's block you can't blame me. I've managed to get this done, but it's only half of the chapter. I hope that you all can forgive me and I will try to have the other half up as soon as I can get back on the wagon._

**_Bewitched_**

_**By Miztikal-Dragon**_

_**Chapter Six A**_

The first thing that InuYasha felt was the stabbing pain of the ice cold water grabbing at his body in the under currents trying to pry his claws from their hold around Kagome's body. He tried his hardest not to panic, to keep calm but when he was tossed roughly into the side of the lake, his grasp slipped from Kagome and the water decided to pull her into the blackness in front of them. InuYasha could hear the screaming of the water, the pounding of his frantic heart as the struggled blindly to grab Kagome. There was no way in hell was he going to lose sight of her, he would not allow the lake to steal his happiness again. The odds were against him tonight as he reached for Kagome's hand, he wouldn't last much longer with out any oxygen and the moment their bodies touched InuYasha gripped onto her and pulled the unconscious girl back to his chest as he clawed at the ice.

Being able to dig his claws into the ice and not get carried away by the water, InuYasha began to kick the ice, hoping that it would break, praying it would crack. His mind soon started pound as his lungs begged desperately for air. Moving his head to the side, InuYasha pulled Kagome's body closer to his and captured her lips, exhaling and inhaling into her body, just as his foot broke through the hard ice surface. After a few more kicks, InuYasha was able to fit himself and Kagome through the hole in the ice and immediately climbed out, breathing heavily. Going over to the edge of the lake, InuYasha laid her body on the cold ground and looked at her. Kagome was soaked to the bone and he couldn't see the wisps of air that should have been coming from her mouth. Beginning to panic, he put his ear on her chest, finding no heart beat, InuYasha pinched Kagome's nose with his fingers and parted her lips before covering them with his own and forcing the hot air into her lungs. He could smell her fading scent in the air and he continued to breathe for her. The minutes ticked on and he tried his hardest to fight back his tears, InuYasha didn't think that he would be able to live through another death, he couldn't sit there and let Kagome slip through his fingers like Kikyo had all those years ago. He wouldn't live through it.

Just as InuYasha was ready to give up, Kagome's body jerked roughly, before she began to shake. The cold lake water spilled from her lips as she turned to her side and coughed raggedly. An exasperated cry came from his lips as InuYasha pulled Kagome's shaking body to his, her damp and cold hair pressed firmly against his chest.

"InuYasha.." Kagome whispered as she gripped him tightly, "H-how did I g-get s-so wet?…I-I'm s-s-o c-cold.."

Realizing that the two of them were still out in the cold and that the snow had started falling harder, InuYasha gently picked Kagome up in his arms and ran towards his cave. He had to get Kagome out of her wet clothes so she wouldn't get sick. Everything was happening so quickly that he couldn't keep track of what was happening, hell, he still had no clue to why Kagome had been out in such bad weather to begin with.

It didn't take him long to get back to his cave, he could feel the warmth radiating from it as he entered, his silver hair clinging to the sides of his face as he glanced down at Kagome. He wanted to cry out his frustration, the stress swelling in his stomach was tearing him apart and he didn't know what to do. Gently laying the now unconscious Kagome down on his bed of furs he brushed the hair out of her face and shivered. InuYasha covered his companion up and went over to the fire placing sticks and branches of wood in it to keep it from dying down even more so. He had to wait till Kagome regained consciousness so he could ask her what the hell was going one because he was completely confused. Going back over to Kagome's side, he pulled back the fur and swallowed the large lump in his throat. There was a big chance of Kagome getting ill if she kept her wet clothes on, and he was nervous of removing them from her even though the water had left nothing to the imagination.

Gathering up all his courage, InuYasha quickly began to undress the sleeping maiden before him. He made sure not to disturb her, or sneak a glance down at the pale and very nude body that lay outstretched underneath him. Putting the furs over her body once he was finished, InuYasha took her dripping garments over to the fire and gently laid them over a warm rock hoping that they would dry before Kagome regained consciousness.

_**oOo**_

OKay so that's all I have. I would like to thank anyone who has actually stuck with this story after such the long wait... I hope it won't take me too long to get the rest of it up. So please bare with me and leave a review.

Until next time, Krystal.


	7. Chapter Six part B

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own InuYasha, so please dont sue me!

_Hey there, it's not all that I had orginally wanted to put in this chapter, but after going back over my outline I decided to shorten it by a few things, but they will be in the next chapter to even everything out. I don't know when the next update will be but I'm counting on reviews in order to keep this story going. I don't know if people are actually reading my stories anymore, and I really need an ego boost right now, I hope you understand -.-_

**_Bewitched_**

_**By Miztikal-Dragon**_

**_Chapter Six Part B_**

Time passed by quickly and sooner than InuYasha guessed, did Kagome wake up. Her brown eyes were in a dazed state and as she rolled over onto her side did she realize that she was completely naked underneath all the fur. A blush covered her face as she looked at InuYasha, he was doing no better than herself, but the look in his eyes spoke many things that she could not comprehend. Taking the fur with her as she sat up, Kagome let her long ebony hair fall over her shoulders, she didn't remember making it to InuYasha's cave.

Her head ached and she felt like she was the worst person in the world. There was one thing that she thought she would never break her word with InuYasha, but she did and it hurt her to no end. Everything bad that could happen to her was and she had no way to escape any of it. Choking back a sob, Kagome brought her knees to her chest and hid her face behind her hands, she didn't want to cry in front of InuYasha, but she couldn't stop herself from doing so. Kagome felt the warmth of InuYasha's arms around her body as she fought to hold back her tears, but they came like a tidal wave and she tried to stop, but they just kept on falling.

"Shhh," his voice was soft and comforting as InuYasha held her close to his heart. "Please don't cry Kagome, it tears me up inside when you do."

"I'm so sorry InuYasha," she cried into his chest as she clung to him for dear life. "I promised that I would stay away, but I couldn't."

He didn't know why she was crying so hard, but it couldn't have been just because she had not kept her promise. Something like that was simple and didn't need to be worried about unless it was consistently happening, but it wasn't. His cheek laid in her silky black hair as he rocked back and forth, trying to soothe her trembling body. If she didn't stop getting so upset, she would make herself sick, physically sick and even mentally.

"I'm not mad at you Kagome," his clawed hand rubbed against her upper arm trying to warm up her cold flesh. "You shouldn't be crying over something that small. I'm not worried about it, but please don't cry."

"It's happening all over again," She whispered into his chest. "Everything that you thought was over is happening again and I don't know why."

InuYasha wasn't sure of what Kagome was talking about, but he had a pretty good feeling that it wasn't going to be good. Kissing the top of her head, InuYasha closed his eyes and tried to think about what she was saying. What was happening again? Pulling her closer to him, he felt her tense body trying to relax against his own, but her sobs still wracked her body and it was a little difficult keeping his mind in one place.

"What are you talking about Kagome?" He wanted to know what was happening and if it was something that the two of the should be worried about.

"Naraku," Kagome said wiping away the remainder of her tears. Her face was red and her eyes somewhat swollen, but she had to tell him. "He-I- He wants me to marry him."

"WHAT?" His voice was louder than what he had wanted and it made Kagome cringe in fear.

"They've been watching me since Koga saw us," she continued shakily, "The villagers, their eyes watch me like a hawk and I can't escape and Naraku is always near me, I can't get away from him either. Then earlier while I was reading to him, he stopped me and asked me to be his wife, but the look in his eyes told me that he wasn't asking--Oh InuYasha I don't know what to do, I can't refuse him, but I can't marry him either!"

This was something that InuYasha wasn't expecting to hear, but it put his mind at ease only a little bit. Sure he understood that there was an unnerving feeling aura around Naraku, but InuYasha was never close enough to determine what it was that irked him about the forty-year-old minister. Things were definitely not looking up for him, but he knew that Kagome would eventually have to marry Naraku, there just was no avoiding it. He could feel his heart breaking as he watched the girl in his arms as if she was as fragile as a blade of grass. He was going to end up loosing the woman he loved no matter what choice he made.

Kissing her forehead gently, he wracked his brain, he needed to find a loop hole. Sure he could just tell her to stay with him, but what about her family? He couldn't just ask her to leave everything that she held dear just so she could be with him forever. It was something that he absolutely couldn't do. InuYasha swore that he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders as Kagome touched his cheek, he was more upset than she was and that was saying something. Looking down at her, InuYasha stared into her lost brown eyes and he felt a pang of guilt in his heart, he was helpless and the both of them knew it. Lowering his face to hers, InuYasha could feel the heavy and hot breath against his lips and it made his skin tingle. No matter what happened to them, he always would know that he was in love with Kagome and nobody would be able to take that away from him.

Their lips met hesitantly at first, the two of them were afraid that this would be their last close moment and neither of them would ever want it to end. His hand cupped her cheek as he captured Kagome's lips into a demanding kiss, he would take whatever could be given. The intensity increased as her tongue swept over his closed lips and as he parted him, her tongue dipped into his mouth before he took the initiative and began to dominate their closeness. His hands caressed her as he guided her to lay back against his makeshift bed of furs, it was as if the fire was getting hotter because he couldn't breathe.

His lips left hers and trailed a path from her jaw line to the inside of her neck, hot open mouthed kisses lying in the wake. It was her moan and the fact that he neared her heavy chest and that she was laying completely naked underneath him that he stopped and pulled away. InuYasha wanted to continue, but something in him wouldn't allow him to take what wasn't his. Yes he did love her, but who was he kidding, a girl like Kagome belonged with a man from the village, not a monstrous thing like himself.

"I'm sorry," He whispered, his breath husky and shaky, "I can't do this, I just can't. You have to go back to the village, you shouldn't be here with me."

"InuYasha," her voice filled with fear as she sat up, her eyes were wide and he couldn't keep himself from avoiding them. "Please InuYasha, please don't do this."

Getting to his feet, he turned away from her, InuYasha couldn't help but hate himself, yet he felt as though it was the right thing to do. The hanyou went over to the rock where Kagome's nightgown laid and brought it to her, she needed to get dressed before he changed his mind. She took it from him and begged him to look at her, but he couldn't, he was too ashamed of himself for even tempting fate, and it hurt.

"Please InuYasha," she was yelling now, she was frantic and knew that she was going to loose him. "I don't want to go back to the village! Don't make me go! Please InuYasha, I can't face them, I don't want to leave you again!"

"You don't belong here with me," it was all that he said, but it made all the hope Kagome had left drain from her body.

Kagome had no strength left to keep going, InuYasha had made the decision and he was leaving her to the sharks, he was abandoning her. She collapsed to the ground as her knees buckled, she had nothing left. InuYasha was at her side in less than the blink of an eye, his arms wrapped around her body, she was angry at him and confused. Her hands gripped his deerskin tunic and she tried to pull away, but he held her tightly, she couldn't escape him either.

"WHY!" She shouted, "Why can't I belong with you?" Kagome was completely loosing her mind, but she couldn't stop herself from continuing. "You're being stubborn InuYasha and I can't give up on us! You're so stupid why can't you see what's in front of your face? Please don't make me leave you InuYasha, please don't make me leave! I love yo---"

He couldn't take anymore of it, her words were killing him on the inside and before she could finish, he pinched the nerve in her shoulder and rendered her unconscious. It was hard for him to do this, but he had no choice. He was sure that if she stayed with him that Naraku would most likely come after her no matter what, and if they couldn't find her then the villagers would most likely go after her family. It was a lose/loose situation and he couldn't bare to have her family pay the price just so he could have her in his arms. It just wasn't possible.

Gathering her up in his arms, InuYasha slowly walked out into the snow it was so cold and he didn't understand how it could be burning hot in the cave, but as cold as ice outside. His mind pulled him several different ways as he took the rugged path to the village, he wanted to have her back in her bed before the sun rose, and that wasn't too far away. Leaping into the air, he believed that he would make better time if he ran, there was no use in trying to act unsuspicious because there would hopefully be nobody awake to see him as he brought Kagome home. The village was quiet as he entered ten or so minutes later, it was something that he remembered as a child and he had cherished it, but now was a different story.

InuYasha made it to Kagome's home hopefully unnoticed and easily snuck inside. He didn't want to be there long and sure as hell didn't want to get caught, so he stayed as quiet as possible and tried to make no noise. He could plainly hear the snoring of the elderly man, probably her grandpa, but InuYasha didn't deter from what he was set out to do, get Kagome home and leave as soon as possible. Going into her room, he went over to her bed and laid Kagome's unconscious body on the rather uncomfortable bed. Saying goodbye was something that he didn't like too well, but it wasn't like it could be helped. Covering her body with the thin blanket, InuYasha brushed the hair away from her face and sighed heavily, she was so beautiful to him.

Deciding that it was time to leave, he leaned over her sleeping form and placed a chaste kiss on her lips before he stood up straight up and headed out of the home. He was going to try and live the rest of his life as best as he could, but he knew that it wouldn't be a happy one. Misery was something that he would welcome because it was what he had chosen for himself, it was something that he believed that he deserved. He didn't realize that he was at the entrance of the forest until he looked up, but he didn't stop for too long. Taking one last glance at the town of Salem, he closed his eyes and exhaled, he would not be back.

"I love you too Kagome." he whispered disappearing into the trees as the sun rose.

So yeah, that's the chapter for this time. Please leave a review, I would like at least five before I start writting the next chapter.

Until next time, Krystal.


	8. Chapter Seven

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own InuYasha, so please dont sue me!

_OMFG I'm updating! lol I know that it's taken me almost three months to get this chapter out but please be assured I wasn't waiting on reviews! I was really having a hard time with this story until July 2nd, and to back me up you can ask some of the readers who were online with me at the time... I had coffee and the writer's block left me alone so I beat it like a nazi farmer and typed until my mom got ants in her pants because Tennis was over! And I finished it at 9:30a.m. on the 3rd! _

_I don't know when the next time I'll be able to update, I'm actually writting this on the computer as I go and it's been really rough with everything that has been going on and stuff... So please forgive me and read this really freaking long chatper! _

**_Bewitched_**

_**By Miztikal-Dragon**_

_**Chapter Seven**_

_Morning came earlier than expected, but it was going to be one of those days that many people would never forget. Mama Higurashi had been up at her normal time beginning the task of making breakfast and grandpa looking at his books admiringly when there came a knock at the door. It was an unusual time for guests, but they were always welcomed in the small house. Wiping her hands on her apron, Mama Higurashi quickly went to her door to answer it, some considered it rude if guests were made to wait long. Opening the wooden door, the middle aged woman smiled at the rather elegant minister standing in front of her with a bible in his hands. _

_"Why hello Naraku," her voice was light and cheerful. "What brings ye here so early? Ye come for a nice hot breakfast?"_

_The cold look in his eyes made Mama Higurashi cower back, and she was able to see the man behind Naraku with a pair of shackles hanging menacingly in his hand at his side. Horrible thoughts came to her mind and she suspected the worst as she stared in confusion at the court officials, they were here for business and by the looks of it, it wasn't any kind of good business._

_"Mama Higurashi," his deep monotone voice was just as cold as his dark black eyes. "We have come here under the name of god and the holy spirit because there is a said witch harboring inside your home."_

_"Ye must be mistaken!" Mama Higurashi gasped as she placed her hand over her heart. "There ain't no witches here I promise ye!" _

_"May we come in Mama Higurashi?" Naraku didn't really ask, as he stepped closer to the middle aged woman. _

_She didn't say another word as she opened her door to the two men and invited them inside. Closing the door behind them, she rushed to get some tea boiling, the conversation would probably be put on hold until there was a pot made. Mama Higurashi practically scalded herself in efforts to quickly make the tea, but when her father came into the room and shook his head, she knew that there would be no tea made in the house today, business was coming first. Wiping the cold perspiration from her brow, Mama Higurashi headed back into the room where Naraku and the Pratt neighbor from down the road were patiently sitting, yep, business was coming to town._

_"There must be an awful mistake," She told them. "One awful mean mistake, there ain't no witches in this here house and there ain't never has been either."_

_"Ma'am," Pratt said softly. "There is a witness who says he saw yer daughter sneaking out yer home occasionally almost every night and go into the forest in her nightgown."_

_"Now we are nice folk in this small town," Naraku was unforgiving even with his voice calm. "And Kagome is someone everyone cherishes, but we will not tolerate a young beautiful girl selling her soul to the devil! We have had almost forty years of peace in this town and if we have to we will begin that very search for witchcraft again."_

_"Bu--"_

_"Mama Higurashi," Naraku said patting the middle aged woman on her hand. "I know that this is hard for you to understand, but trust me when I say this, this is what is best for your family. Don't condemn yourself because you have a corrupt child."_

_Silent tears rolled down her face, they were wrong, she wasn't condemning herself because she "has" a corrupt child, but because she knew exactly what will happen if it continues. Grandpa was in the hall listening to all what was said and he was horrified, the minister had come once before and taken his wife, and shot his only son for trying to interfere. Grandpa knew now that there was something up, that the only thing corrupt was the house of god. Anger pulsed throughout his body and wanted to yell and scream at the two men invading is house with their filth, but he couldn't. It wasn't physically possible for him anymore, and he didn't want to cause anymore trouble for his daughter, he didn't want her to lose everything. _

_"How can ye say that it's my daughter is corrupt, ye know her!" She was frantic to prove her only child innocent. "She comes to yer house everyday! How can ye say this!"_

_"Now listen ma'am," Pratt said becoming annoyed. "Koga said that se saw yer daughter going into the woods, hell he said he saw her dancing with the devil himself! If ye can't get that into yer brain then yer the one letting it happen! Yer the one letting the devil have her innocence and that means yer just as guilt as she!"_

_"We have a warrant," Naraku told her bluntly. "And whether you like it or not, we've come to take Kagome with us. You have no choice in this matter and you will be shot if you try and stop us. This town does not take witchcraft too kindly and you should know exactly what I mean when I say this. So don't make this any harder than it already is."_

_Naraku and Pratt rose to their feet and headed straight to where the rooms were located, there were only three so their search wouldn't be long. Naraku was in front as he opened the door, and stepped inside carefully, since she was accused, anything was possible. Finding nothing in the room, he waved his hand and headed out of the room and across to the next one. Going inside the two men found noting and they knew that Kagome would most likely be in the last room. Naraku was anxious to see the beauty sleeping and he quietly opened the door, there was no need to be loud, right now. _

_Stepping inside, he glanced around carefully until he saw her form on the bed and he frowned, the way she was laying was unnerving. Pratt handed over the shackles to Naraku on command and the minister calmly went up to the teenagers bed with an eerie silence. _

_oOo_

Hours had passed since the incident in the Higurashi home and now Kagome lay silently in a cold cell in the center of the town. Naraku hadn't been gentle when he shook her to consciousness only to slap shackles on her wrists. At first she had struggled, loudly screaming her innocence as the two men dragged her from her home, but with the disapproving gazes of the neighbors from their doorways, Kagome gave up and let them take her away. It didn't take long for them to take her to her cell, it would serve to be her home until the trial and the trial would be held whenever Naraku deemed fit, the next day maximum.

Kagome wanted to cry as she gazed half heartedly at the ceiling of her cell, she couldn't believe that Koga had turned on her, but yet again she had lied to him. Even more she didn't understand why InuYasha had brought her home, he knew the consequences for her actions, but he still left her to the blood-thirsty wolves. The hay under her was uncomfortable and the nightgown she wore clung to her flesh, she was freezing. It was as if she was laying on snow she was so cold and the thin blanket that was given to her was of no use since the hole in it was larger than her head. There was no heat to spare and since the cell she was currently residing in had a small barred window it let the cold from outside seep in and infect her with its icy grasp.

Letting a rather large sigh escape her throat, Kagome hugged her knees trying to preserve the heat, if she continued on like this she would certainly die. The sun was setting and soon the darkness would take over and she was certain that she would be lucky to make it through the night. Covering her mouth as a rough coughing fit took its strong hold, she mentally cursed herself and then her silver hair "hero", it was partly his fault why she had ended up in the drafty and sickeningly disgusting cell.

Minutes droned on and Kagome could feel the heavy tug of her eyelashes as she fought against sleep, she wasn't ready to welcome it yet, not into her body or her heart. Sleep was like the darkness and once found it would never leave and she feared that she would live the rest of her days in the rotting cell, or by another means that Naraku found fit. It was heart-wrenching to think about. Blinking back her tears, Kagome wrapped the thin blanket closer around her person, trying her hardest to fight against her sadness and the cold creeping upon her, she had to be strong if not for herself then for her family.

The rustling of feet on concrete like floor brought her from her angst-ridded mind and cautiously glancing over her shoulder she saw the outline of someone a few feet away from the barred cell that trapped her like a rat. Sniffling, Kagome closed her tired brown eyes and sighed heavily, she wished that who ever her visitor was would go away, she was in no condition to see people and listen to them condemn her or try to save her.

"Kagome my dear I know that you're awake," his voice was low and entrancing, but she wouldn't allow herself to fall victim to his games.

"Go away Naraku," She bluntly said curling into a ball and trying her hardest to ignore the devilish man who had put her in her cage.

"I would but pressing matters must be spoken of first my love," He told her softly, as he neared her cell. "I have made your trial for tomorrow at around noon Kagome---"

"Oh goody," She replied sarcastically, her back still facing him. "Now I get the whole village to scream inappropriate things about me while I'm persecuted for absolutely no reason and I'll still be found guilty beyond reasonable doubt no matter what I do."

His laughter sent a shiver up her spine, he was mocking her, but Kagome had no will to bark at him for it. All she wanted was to curl up in a ball tighter than what she was currently doing and disappear into nothingness. Hell she wished that she really was a witch like everyone claimed because if she was then she could have used her "evil black magic" to get herself out of the cell and away from the village, but alas that like everything was impossible at the moment.

"That isn't all true you know Kagome my dear," Naraku's tone was lower than before which meant he was a man of business, a man of trade and Kagome could immediately feel the impending doom that churned in her stomach as well as the bile in the back of her throat. "I know a way that you can avoid a trial altogether and not one villager will ever believe that this charade will have happened. Everything so far will be like a nightmare and you can live your life out like a lady should, with a small price of course."

_Ah, like every story, there was a silver lining. _

"What do you mean?" Kagome turned around to meet his black eyed gaze and held the think blanket closer to her form as she sat up, half-heartedly interested in his words.

"What I mean of course is that you become my wife Kagome," His smile was predatory and she knew that she was like a mouse cowering in front of a hungry tabby cat. "If you just say yes to my proposal everything that has happened in the last few short months will be forgotten and stricken from every record and your crime will be nothing, gone like the leaves in the winter. All will be forgotten and forgiven if you'll become my wife."

As tempting as his offer didn't sound, there was no way that Kagome would allow herself to accept it. There was no way that she would give up everything that she believed in, that her grandmother had instilled in her backbone just to save herself from the intense gaze of the Puritan magistrate and from the eyes of god himself. Letting a frown cover her face, Kagome glared at the man merely a yard or two away from her, his pale skin was like ice and his body was like a sword of betrayal, to wed him was like marrying the devil and she had no intention of ever letting a man like him touch her in a way only a husband should.

It was a hard laugh that came from Kagome's lips as she glanced around the room haphazardly, some things were making sense now that she thought about it and she couldn't help but look a little crazier than what she felt. After Naraku's proposal it clicked inside her mind, it was the story that her grandmother used to tell her while laying in her bed waiting for sleep to overcome her and the same sad story that InuYasha had trusted her with, it was all of that and so much more. It was like a tale out of a story book, but somehow was now caught up in real life, the betrayal, the lust, the forbidden love, and the evil official, everything happened forty years in the past and now was reliving itself praying for a different ending that would never come.

"I cant do that," she whispered barely audible for her to hear but somehow his eyes narrowed and Kagome knew that he had heard her. "I can't believe that I didn't realize it earlier than now I'm so foolish. I know what it means now and I can't be your wife, there's just no way."

"And why not?" The anger was slowly seeping into his voice and it made a smile purse Kagome's lips.

"Because Onigumo," the sudden intake of air was from her companion and she knew that she had taken him for surprise. "If I married you I would be doing the very thing that Kikyo refused to do, I would be killing off something more than my mind, but my heart."

"Your mind and your heart do not matter in this world my dear," he was seething and the fire of his gaze burned holes in her person, but how she knew about his secret was something that he couldn't figure out.

"Not to you or the world of men around Salem," she was calm and even she didn't know how she was doing it since the fear clutched her heart, Naraku was a monster and she could feel in deep down in her soul. "But there is a place out there where someone will be waiting and god will shine his good graces upon me and the way of my spirit."

"That is nonsense!" Naraku was almost yelling at her, "You will never make it out of this village you vile little bitch! I will see to that! If you do not marry me then you will die and so will your serpent tongue! Kikyo did the same and that wretched InuYasha could do nothing to stop me! Neither will you because either way my dearest Kagome you will be silenced."

And he turned on his heels and stormed out of the prison, the cold air sucking the air around her like a tornado's vacuum. The lit candles around her flickered and extinguished themselves out leaving Kagome to her darkness and her decision would still not be wavered. All she had to do now was sit and wait to see what fate would next bring her. Laying back down, she let the fear she felt leave her body through silent tears slipping down her pale face, she would try and forget the heartache that left a wound the size of bowl in her chest.

oOo

InuYasha sat in his cave, the fire burning as bright as the sun, but he found no warmth in it. It was as if the world around him had ceased to exist, it was as if mother nature was cursing him for his actions. Thousands upon millions of rogue thoughts came to his mind as he sat there Indian style, his hands hidden in the opposite sleeves on his arms, he just couldn't find it in himself to change his decision. He didn't want to be the one who took everything away from Kagome no matter how big or small, and he knew he sounded like one big hypocrite. She wanted to love him and him to love her in return, but he had tossed the idea back in front of her face, he made her crumple to the floor earlier that morning and he hated himself for it.

How could he live knowing that the Kagome would live the rest of her life with Naraku, miserable as he felt because InuYasha had wanted her to live in Salem. It was a selfish action and he screamed at himself that they were justifiable, that he was doing the right thing, but why wasn't he able to convince himself of that? Why did it feel as though he was making the worst mistake in the world by letting her slip through his fingers the way Kikyo had.

_Kikyo _

Her death plagued his mind like death and it hurt him to no end to know that there was no way that he could have saved her unless they had runaway together like they had originally planned. If things were done as planned before now Kagome would have never known him, she probably would have been happier, yet thinking this way made InuYasha's heart ache even more so than the memories of losing Kikyo to Salem. How much more blood would have to be shed, how many more girls would have to die before Onigumo's spirit left the town or Salem, or before Naraku would stop creating insecurity among villagers, arousing destructive hearts.

Night had fallen sooner than what he expected and it was too late for him to go hunting for his dinner, but it wasn't like InuYasha was hunger, his stomach was feeling the exact opposite, he wanted to throw up for his ignorance. Getting to his feel as a lone wolf's howl carried through the forest like a lost soul, InuYasha left the cold warmth of his cave in the direction of Salem. Even though he had said he'd never return there was something in his very being that told him otherwise, it was begging for him to go back and see Kagome at least one more time before making up his mind and condemning his heart for eternity. The crisp air burned his cheeks as well as his eyes, but he quickly trekked forward on the not so used path, he needed to be fast and stoic in order to go there and leave with his rational mind still in tact.

It hadn't taken much time to get to the entrance of the forest, but mentally cursed his timing as he carefully watched the village men walk around as if it were still morning. He would have to wait and see what was going on before he could go and spy on Kagome's home and hopefully he wouldn't have to wait that long. Listening in on their conversations like an eavesdropping teenager, InuYasha was able to find out the worst thing in the world and his blood ran cold, the impossible had happened and it was like a slap in the face.

Kagome had been arrested for the suspicion of witchcraft.

Something inside of him snapped as he watched what he assumed to be Naraku walking down the street with a sneer on his face, he didn't look so happy and the facial features made InuYasha's breath hitched. Naraku looked remotely similar to Onigumo, but the man from his past had never had a wife no children, it was unnerving and it only made InuYasha more concerned for Kagome's safety as well as her life. Getting to what he remembered to be the "prison" wasn't as hard as he had originally believed it to be. Once Naraku had went inside a small dwelling the village men seemed to disappear almost instantly and it only added fuel to InuYasha's already blazing fire. Something wasn't right with that town official, he had an aura that screamed corruption, destruction, and pain and InuYasha felt sick just looking at the middle aged man.

InuYasha made sure to enter the prison undetected and headed in the direction of the cells. He knew that she'd be there, but he never expected to see what he found waiting for him. It was like he was repeating what he experienced with Kikyo all over again and it tugged at his heart almost to the point of tears, almost. Kagome looked like a sickly child laying there on the makeshift bed and a lump the size of a wild fruit appeared in his throat, he was lost for words. He wanted to yell and hurt the people who had done this to her, but that would risk her safety and there was no way that he was going to cause anymore damage than he already had in such a short time.

"Don't you people know that visitors are--" Kagome's voice was angry and low and as she turned around her frown immediately disappeared and her eyes widened in shock. "InuYasha!"

All the anger that she had once felt left her like a rush of water and she was speechless. How did InuYasha come to her? Why did he come? Thoughts like these ran through her mind endlessly, but the look on his face was something that she had never seen before, it was filled with shame, regret, and sadness. Slowly getting off her bed and onto her feet, Kagome went to where InuYasha stood so close to the cell bars and reached out to him, gently touching his clawed hands as if he was merely an illusion.

Her gasp was loud as she pulled him to her through the bars, her trembling fingers touching his face as if she feared she'd never see him again.

"Kagome are you okay?" He was hesitant, but held her as close to him as he could though the cell bars didn't give much to work with.

"Oh god InuYasha," Kagome sniffled fighting back her tears. "I'm going to die! Naraku's set my trial for tomorrow and I know that there's no way that I can get out of this--I--I don't know what do to I'm so scared!"

"Don't worry Kagome," InuYasha told her trying his hardest to believe himself what he was going to say. "I'll find a way to get you out. I'm so sorry."

Nothing was said after that and the two of them basked in the silence and comfort of the other. Kagome knew that there wasn't much of a shot when InuYasha said he'd help her, but she so desperately wanted to believe that he would that she let her mind believe it to keep from going insane with misery and depression, to keep from making the deal with Naraku. The two of them had to be strong for each other if so Kagome had the chance of making it out alive and without having to marry her way to freedom.

It wasn't long after that did Inuyasha reluctantly pull away from Kagome and bid her farewell for the night, promising to try and think of a way out of the mess that he had created for her. Kagome did end up sleeping, but the moment she closed her eyes she was roughly being shaken awake by the volunteering village men, somehow time had passed by so quickly it was already time for her dreaded trial. They had tied her hands behind her back to be sure that she wouldn't curse them and she was escorted to the court room where Naraku sat on his throne, a glare in his eyes that promised something more painful than death.

It was there that she tried her hardest not to look as guilty as everyone claimed her to be. She could feel the dagger like glares of everyone in the room, they were sentencing her to death before they could even blink, the people she thought she loved had turned against like they do the chickens they raise. Her prosecutor was her Pratt neighbor and not one thing out of his mouth resembled anything that she thought was possible from him. Everything he said was laced with anger and was made to show them how much of a monster Kagome was, and had always been. Of course she fought against his words, she fought until her throat was sore and raw, but none of it helped. Almost every time she tried to redeem herself the villagers that had come to witness the trial would scream out their own feelings, curses and hate filled voice would fill the courtroom for minutes at a time and Naraku would only listen with a victorious smirk on his face, he was enjoying watching her suffer.

Kagome already knew that the village believed she was a witch and that Naraku would make it in the record stating it as fact, but only Kagome knew the truth. As horrible as it was, Pratt seemed to make it worse by doing something that Kagome never thought was possible, he commanded that Koga, was brought into the courtroom as evidence against Kagome. The room was eerily silent as the village men opened the large doors, in their arms was the said boy and as they passed each bench of people, whispering murmurs filled the courtroom yet again. She was taken by surprise by the way Koga looked, his once bronze tanned skin was no a ghostly white and his bright blue eyes were dull and almost lifeless.

Her accuser showed the people around her the puncture wounds on Koga's stomach and arms and Kagome could plainly feel the bile rising in her throat, they were telling the court that it was her fault why Koga was this way, that it was her doing. Even her tears were used against her as a sign of guilt but no matter how hard she tried to prove otherwise, it was ignored, they had already condemned her before they entered the courtroom and she would have to pay the price for the actions and crimes that she never committed. Naraku eventually heard enough and left his throne in order to make his decision and Kagome wanted to laugh at that, everyone already knew that she was guilty so what was the point of making a decision that was already made?

Minutes passed by until he came back and when he did so did his verdict. His black eyes watched her like a hawk as he recited the long forgotten words of the bible and of the law, drawing it out as if it were merely a show and not a reality. Kagome could see it in his eyes that he was finding pleasure out of her suffering and he did eventually come out and say his decision, that in fact she was found guilty of witchcraft. The thing that she feared the most was her punishment, she was well aware that it would be something horrible, but she prayed that she wasn't hung like her grandmother or tortured until she went insane with madness or sadness. She hoped that InuYasha would have at least a small chance to try and save her instead of finding her dead body deep within the forest he lived in after the village men killed her and dragged her exiled body away from their saint like home of Salem. Naraku only smiled as he told the entire village of her punishment and she felt her blood run cold.

They were going to burn her at the stake the following morning.

With the verdict said and everything else completed, the village men who escorted her to the court house roughly grabbed her arms to drag her back to her cell in order to wait for her death. Kagome saw her only option was to kick and scream trying to get out of their grasp and make a run for it, but it didn't happen and she was tossed like a ragged doll back into her hell hole. After they left Kagome sat on her knees staring at the floor, her eyes filling with tears, she knew then that she had lost. A gut wrenching sob escaped her throat quickly followed by many others, she no longer had the strength to hold back anything now.

And as her sobs filled the small jail cell somewhere off in the distance of the forest near the unknown a lone wolf howled its painful howl. Everyone in the village that day was able to hear the devil's cry and nobody was able to escape the feeling of dread that seeped from the forest. Broad day light or not the elderly villagers spoke of the devil's work and how he never slept. Be it a beast from the very depths of hell, judgment day was coming upon them and nobody would be safe in Salem.

oOo

_Okay I had the whole trial thing written so much better but then microsoft word was a bitch and suddenly closed on me and I lost a page... A WHOLE PAGE! Well Yesterday was filled with unwriter's block so I was able to write a little for everything including finishing chapter 30 from Will you be mine? which means that I'll be updating every story that I'm working on later! Doesn't that just sound fan-fucking-tastic! _

_Please leave a review if you want more... I worked really hard on this chapter and would appreciate some feedback! EEE! So hyper! lol _

_Until next time, Krystal. _


	9. Chapter Eight part A

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own InuYasha, so please dont sue me!

_I'm sorry that it has taken me forever to post a new chapter for this story but I'm trying really hard not to screw up my senior year and most of my time during the weekend has gone to editing and posting previous work on I'm still frustrated about what happened to animespiral so please bare with me. _

_This is only about half of the entire chapter eight and I'm trying my hardest to finish this chapter. The story is actually almost done I just have to find the free time and get over my writer's block. I'm also not too happy with a few other things but I'll be celebrating my 17th b-day on the 4rth of October, so wish me luck! ENJOY!_

**_Bewitched_**

_**By Miztikal-Dragon**_

**_Chapter Eight-A_**

As the day progressed, Kagome's condition only seemed to get worse. Her chest hurt and every fit of coughing brought the blood from her mouth to her palm, it wasn't good. Something told her that it was payback for going out into the woods that night searching for InuYasha, and she would have to deal with it, besides it wasn't as if she would die from it. Naraku was making sure of that much and in a way she hoped that this sickness would steal her away before the scene was set up and she would have to endure a slow and painful death. She wanted to die in her sleep, not while screaming as her skin melted off her body surrounded by smoke and the flames of hell.

Kagome could hear the loud murmurs of the gossip people were speaking, some were louder than others and she felt the shame that they placed on her name, she felt the despair of every 'sin' she had brought to the town of Salem the minute she was born. People were cruel when they wanted to be and neighbors and friends were now her enemies, people who despised her because they didn't know the truth, or they were too wrapped up in their own lives to care about anything but the purging of evil.

The food was horrible, but then again it wasn't her mother's cooking so of course it was bad. Kagome fought against her tears as she sat in her solitude, Naraku allowed her no visitors so her mother and grandfather weren't permitted to see her. She would die alone and suffering the pain of her decisions, he was making sure that she knew her consequences. The weather on the outside of the cell was beginning to warm up, but on the other side it was like winter all over again.

Her sneezes and sniffling were left on deaf ears, nobody dared look at her unless they wished to be bewitched by her malevolent powers, or wanted to have a curse fall upon their name. It was things like that which gave Naraku the power over the people, he had pulled a blanket over their eyes letting them see only what he wished them to. It was the perfect crime for a man with more intelligence than any holy man would have. Naraku was tainted and some how Kagome prayed that she would take him down with her if she died. She hoped that it was possible to kill a demon when she had nothing but herself left, well and InuYasha, yet she wanted him to live.

oOo

Naraku smiled evilly as he walked down the dirt road surveying the townspeople as they did their ordinary things. The whispers of witchcraft had just about corrupted their hearts and turned them against each other and it made him smile with pleasure. If he couldn't make her marry him he would take everything from her and make her see the errors of her ways, she would know pain by the time she was tied to the stake. There was no safe place for innocence.

Making his rounds to the Pratt's home, Naraku checked on the young boy who had been "bewitched" by Kagome. The blisters were healing nicely and were almost gone and the pale skin was turning to its normal color, Koga would be alright. He wanted to laugh as he watched the boy with his black eyes, nobody suspected that Naraku was the culprit behind the "bewitching" that he was the demon hiding with the darkness in their town and not the beautiful maiden paying for his sins.

Villagers begged for their homes to be blessed as he continued on his way, each other them believing that if he did the ceremonies that they would never have to worry about demons coming to their homes and taking the most precious of things from them. That wasn't the case though, Naraku could do no such things, but then again if they believed that he could who was he to set them straight? He was the minister of the town of Salem, he was the top authority and he worked hard to get that title and the only thing he was looking for was Kagome's final days of life, the death of the nuisance InuYasha and for another beauty to come along so he could take her as his wife and complete his plans.

Going to his home after every worthless task had been completed, Naraku locked his door and resided in his room where he was free to let loose the laughter that he had been holding in all day long. It was the evil laughter of a malicious man who realized that nothing could go wrong and that soon enough the small town of Salem would know what exactly hell was. The gates of hell would have their strong hold in the "sacred" ground where god lived. Salem would be the place where the demons emerged from hell to reek havoc on the world and tainting everything in their paths.

oOo

InuYasha paced feverishly back and forth trying to come up with a plan to get Kagome out of her current predicament but only came up empty handed. He couldn't think clearly with all the stress he was under, all the guilt that he felt. It was his fault that Kagome had become entangled in this mess, it had been him to steal her from her home and introduced her to a different lifestyle. InuYasha cursed himself mentally and out loud for the longest time, this problem wouldn't be easily solved.

The only way out of it seemed to be death, there was no other choice. Somebody would have to die. Obviously he knew that, but couldn't accept it, if he could he would take Kagome's place, but where would that leave her? What would happen to her once he died if he could? Head butting the rock wall of his cave, InuYasha struggled to knock some sense into himself, he didn't know where to start, he didn't know how to begin.

He was running out of time and quickly at that he didn't even notice that the day had passed him by. When InuYasha was finally able to pull himself out of his deep and sad thoughts, he slowly walked out of his shelter and into the woods. He knew someone would be able to give him the advice he needed and there he would be able to figure out how to deal with the stress and the guilt of his actions. InuYasha needed forgiveness for the crimes he didn't commit, but the thing that was most important was getting back on the fallen trail.

The forest was filled with life, the anonymous birds singing their melodies from t heir hidden homes. InuYasha could hear the water flowing in the stream and what was once a place where he found solace was now a nightmare waiting to happen. It wasn't hard to realize that was in fact stalling when in actuality time was pressed. A selfish nature was a habit most hard to break and InuYasha seemed to be no different than the villagers themselves. A coward in so many different ways.

Heading in the direction where he forest parted into a small clearing, he kept his head down, his amber eyes watching the ground below him and his feet. His heart was beating quickly and in a way with every step of uncertainty the organ appeared to be breaking. The other mysterious creatures that occupied the forest acted as if they were laughing at him, mocking him with an age old song. Their disappointment rang throughout the trees.

Gentle and glowing golden eyes greeted him, the gray fur surrounding it was like a blanket of smoke. The wolf was someone that InuYasha watched grow old and his respect for her was something greater than life. Going to where the wolf sat patiently, InuYasha sat down next to her and petted the beast, he had come for advice. The wolf knew as much and laid her head in InuYasha's lap, waiting for the story to be told, there wasn't much time left and she knew what it was about.

"I've screwed up really badly this time, Kagome's been arrested for witchcraft because of me and I don't know what to do." He whispered softly his fingers brushing against the wolf's tender scalp. "Some how I know that Naraku's behind this, just like when they stole your life away. I know that this is somehow connected with Kikyo, I can feel it but how can I keep it from happening again? How can I prove my worth if I can't even protect the one I love most in this world? Please Kaede, give me some advice. What can I do to save everything from destruction? I don't have the strength to do this on my own."

_'One's strength is not shown by what's on the outside, but the willpower on the inside. That's where it counts the most. I can't tell you what you should do InuYasha, you need to do that on your own. However I'll say this much, the road not taken is often the most regretted. If you love her than go to her and do whatever it takes to keep her by your side. True love is a scary thing, it only comes to us once and if you forsake that love than you'll wander for an eternity searching for what you've lost.'_

InuYasha watched as the aging wolf climbed to its feet and walked into the forest, leaving him there with his thoughts. Wise and knowing golden eyes glanced back at him for a moment before disappearing into the darkness and he was left alone once more. Falling deep into his thoughts, he didn't realize that the sun had already began to set and by the time he was aroused by the screech of a bird. It wasn't long after that was he able to gather his bearings and head in the direction of the sleepy town of Salem. Things had been winding down and now that the town thought that they were "safe" they decided that it was time to go back to normal. Though little did they know that normal was far from the truth and it would be still a while longer until they would be able to pick up the pieces of their town.

There was no salvation for the ignorant.

oOo

Kagome whispered silent prayers into the hay that she lay on, the night always brought about the worst of the cold. Her body trembled with shiver's if things kept up the way that they were, she would die from the cold before morning. Hugging her shoulders tightly as she buried herself deeper into the chilly yellow-brown hay, she resigned herself to keep up her prayers. They were about the only things that she could think about that gave her hope for better days, if she was lucky enough to have them.

The sounds of clothes shuffling and heading closer to her confined quarters made Kagome turn her head to peer into the surrounding darkness, visitors weren't allowed in the cell after nightfall, Naraku warned the people about Kagome being able to "send her soul" upon people and making them her slaves of the devil. It was a load of horse crap in her eyes, but who was she to say anything different, she had no credibility because she was a witched. A young maiden damned to the deepest pits of hell for her sins against god, for her betrayal to the heavens.

"Kagome are you still awake?" It was his pleading voice that brought her to her senses and pulling herself out her makeshift bed, she cast her eyes onto his shadowy form.

"I-InuYasha!" She spoke in a loud whisper as she rushed to him, her arms embracing him through the cold metal bars. "Oh god InuYasha."

"Shhh it's going to be okay Kagome," he told her, his clawed hands sliding around her trembling form trying their best to soothe the poor girl.

"No it's not InuYasha," Kagome argued trying her hardest not to break down in tears though they were already stinging the back of her eyes with a vengeance. "They are preparing for my death. Naraku ordered that I be burned at the stake tomorrow and they are out for blood. I don't know what to do anymore, but I don't want to die. I wanna be with you forever InuYasha."

Her tears fell from her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks then and all InuYasha could do was hold her as close as possible and listen to her sobs. They were weak and he could feel the sickness in her body, Kagome was giving up all hope of living passed the next day. Closing his own eyes, he fought against his tears of frustration, he wouldn't allow Naraku to steal her away from him, InuYasha wasn't going to let the evil of one mans soul take what InuYasha loved, he wasn't going to let him win and kill someone that InuYasha loved. He refused to lose this battle.

"Listen to me Kagome," InuYasha nearly growled in a low and harsh voice. His tone not leaving any argument otherwise. "I won't let you die here like this. I don't know just how I'll do it, but I'll save you from this place but I need you to trust me. I won't give you up, I refuse to let Naraku win. Please say that you'll wait for me, all I need is a little more time and I'll show everyone how much I love you. They can't take you away from me, I won't let them. Please be strong and wait for me, I won't abandon you I promise."

"How can a demon like yourself protect her when it's your fault she's like this?" A harsh yet weak voice growled in the darkness. "How can you spout such words for a beast of hell? Controlling the hearts of beautiful young maidens, you're nothing but something that needs to be banished to the flames. I won't let you corrupt her anymore."

InuYasha's back stiffened as he heard the voice, it wasn't Naraku, but then again the boy wasn't wanted and his words were nothing but blasphemy. Releasing his hold from Kagome, InuYasha turned to face the one who had basically called him out. Amber eyes met cobalt blue and their glares were matched evenly. His face was yellow and InuYasha's nose scrunched up in distaste, he remembered the fool standing before him, he had been the one who had spied on him and Kagome, this boy had caused a lot of unnecessary problems that could have been easily avoided.

oOo

**_E/N:_** _That's all I have for you this time. Please accept my apologies and I hope to have the rest of it up asap. AND as always, please review!_

_-Krystal-_


	10. Chapter Eight part B

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own InuYasha, so please dont sue me!

HEY I'M BACK! lol This ended up being 7 pages on microsoft word processor on size 10 font, so yeah it was a bitch to finish and I would love some feedback on what you think.

**_Bewitched_**

_**By Miztikal-Dragon**_

**_Part B_**

InuYasha didn't waste any time as he advanced on the young boy, he needed to be taught his place and there was only one way that he could think of. The boy known as Koga refused to cower in InuYasha's presence but it became clear who was superior. The first punch was thrown by Koga, though it was never landed. InuYasha was stronger, faster, smarter, and more cunning than the poor boy and Koga paid the price. Kagome's hushed pleas were ignored as the older boy beat the other senseless. It was a horrifying sight as Koga collapsed to the ground in a mess, the blood trickling down his lip and his nose. The boy was defeated and left with a little prize, his arm was definitely broken.

"Please InuYasha," Kagome cried for some kind of reply. "Stop you're making it worse. Please stop! InuYasha no more complications go! I don't want you to get caught, please I'll wait, just go before it's too late… Please InuYasha!"

An angry growl escaped his throat and turning his head to look at Kagome, his anger temporarily subsided. He hadn't meant to make things worse, but he couldn't just let the filthy piece of shit in front of him get away without some kind of punishment. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he kicked the younger boy in the ribs one last time before going back to Kagome and pulling her close one last time. He would take her advice and go because it was what she wanted, he didn't like the idea, but it was what had to be done. Kissing her forehead, InuYasha looked down at the girl he'd fallen in love with, he promised that he wouldn't abandon her in the time of dire need, he refused to let her die.

"I'll come back for you," he told her as he released her. "I won't let anything happen to you I promise just don't give up hope Kagome. I love you."

Giving a threatening glare to the boy laying on the ground, InuYasha faded into the shadows of the prison cell and disappeared into the night. Things had to be thought through and as weird as it had become, he knew that the only way he'd get his way was by death. There was no other way. Running faster than the wind, he let his silver hair fly behind him as he headed into the depths of the forest, the end was coming faster than he had originally anticipated but he was more than a hundred percent sure that he'd be the one who would hold the victory. He was betting his life, his very existence on it.

**_oOo_**

It was the silence that unnerved Kagome as she watched the outside through the barred cell windows, nature was laughing at her in a way, teasing her with hope and then snatching it before she could get a good grip. It was absolute torture. A defeated groan from the floor brought Kagome back to her senses as she glanced over to the boy trying to get to his feet with rather unsteady movements. Deep down in her heart she knew that Koga deserved what he received, but another part of her told her that the extremities that InuYasha went to was a little uncalled for.

"Koga, don't mind InuYasha," she said as if he were nothing but a misbehaved child. "He's a little rough around the edges, but he has a good heart. You went a little too fa-"

"I don't care," His tone was gruff and demanded her to cease. "You shouldn't have chosen a demon over a man and its not my fault why you are here now."

Koga's words were like ice, but their meaning was clearer than day he was mad for losing against something "inhuman". Kagome sighed heavily as she retreated to her hay bed. If he wanted to vent his anger then she would let him. She had no strength left to fight him, it was completely useless to try. His cold eyes made her feel even more helpless than before but it didn't matter as long as he left her to her thoughts she would be okay. As long as he didn't try to play innocent she would be able to remain in control.

"Why don't you leave as well?" She asked lifelessly switching her gaze to a near by corner. "I'm not in the mood for company anymore and I'd appreciate it if you go back to your home before the town decides that I am using my 'evil powers' to try and corrupt you and make you sign your name in the book of Satan."

"I didn't come here to make you look worse and I won't leave until what I want to say is said. ," Koga replied nursing his arm, watching her intently with his blue eyes. "All I ever wanted was to be by your side for an eternity, I loved you Kagome but I know that you've made your choice. Destiny cannot be changed no matter how hard we pray to God, the only thing we can do is pray and stay true hoping that what we wish for will be granted. Obviously our lives can't cross paths in this life and they probably won't ever, but that doesn't mean that I like it at all. That demon shouldn't be the one who deserves your love, he shouldn't be the one who is allowed to win because what hope can we hold onto if the precious things in life goes only to the demons? How can good prevail when there is never a chance for it to blossom?"

Koga continued on his undirected insults, but Kagome listened none the less. His words struck at the nerves of her heart, but he didn't understand. InuYasha wasn't the demon, if anything he was the one who deserved more than she had to offer him. There was always two sides to ever story, a good and an evil with important facts ignored. She wanted to scream her frustration at him, yell at him until she was blue in the face only to make him realize that he was being selfish, but it didn't matter because it wasn't like he would change. Unbroken habits are the worse to set right, a person wouldn't change if they didn't want to. She could lead a horse to water but it wasn't like she could make it drink.

She didn't know just exactly how long he ranted to her, his eyes not wavering with his convictions, but she made no attempt to stop him, it was pointless. Minutes droned on like hours as his words became more venomous, he was pouring his entire heart out to her, his frustration and anger, his sadness and his hate and it would never be enough. When Koga was finished he was breathing heavily, everything was put out on the table and she realized that everything he was trying to say was all the same. Pity, sympathy, regret, in his own way Koga was apologizing for everything that he had done wrong, begging for some type of forgiveness that could never be given.

The arrogant couldn't be saved, there was no such thing as forgiveness from a broken soul.

Kagome could tell that Koga was near tears as he stared helplessly at her and she wanted to tell him that everything would be alright, but the truth of the matter was that it wouldn't. Not all mistakes could be fixed, nobody was allowed to have a second chance in life if they didn't try. Removing her eyes from him and onto her feet, Kagome wrapped her arms around her chest and turned away from the boy beyond the bars, she couldn't help him. In a way she didn't want to. Angry tears threatened to fall from her own eyes as she listened to Koga let out a strangled apology, his voice like a helpless child trying to revive a dead animal they had killed.

"I'm tired," It wasn't a lie, but she wanted to be by herself. "You should leave before somebody finds you here talking to me. Leave me alone Koga, you can't beg for forgiveness when there was no sin committed. The evil will be waiting in the darkness no matter what, we cannot save everybody. I just want to be left alone right now, so go and leave me to myself."

"Kagome, please!"

"NO!" She said angrily in a hushed growl, "Get on with your life Koga, grow up and be a man. Leaders are people who rise above the clouds and take control, they are not the sniveling boys who cry over a scraped knee. I'm not yours to claim, to pray for. Don't make things harder than they have to be and just leave. If you don't I will scream and wake up every damned person in the village. It's either get out of here now and forget about me or take the risk to keep your life for another day."

Koga left the small prison stomping away childishly, it was the only way that Kagome knew how to get rid of people but her heart was already breaking. She believed that life was different that the kind hearted and pure would rise above and save the weak, but not everything was all peaches and crème. Waiting until she was sure that he was actually gone, Kagome covered her mouth as the ragged coughs overtook her body, her chest ached as she clutched the hay with her free hand. She hadn't been sure if she could have made it long enough, but Kagome was thankful that she did. When her coughing fits ceased and the blood was wiped from her hand, Kagome laid on her side and curled into the fetal position trying to preserve the warmth that was non existent around her. Soon it would be all over and she would either be dead or somewhere that would be as close to heaven as anything she could hope for.

Closing her eyes she was able to drift away from the reality into a dream world that never knew of misery or unhappiness, a place where there were no such thing as sorrow or pain.

**_oOo_**

The sun had yet to rise, but the small group of village men were waiting patiently in the fading darkness, their guns and pitchforks waiting for the hunt that was sure to come. Naraku came a few minutes later dressed in all black, his eyes cold and unyielding as he glanced around the crowd, they were all willing to purge the evil that corrupted the innocent. Those kind of blinded fools were perfect and soon enough things would take a turn for the best and everyone in Salem would know just how ignorant they truly were.

Instructions were given and torches lit as the men began their way into the forest, they would not come back without the demon's head or they wouldn't come back at all. It was just as simple as that. The men that were chosen to stay behind waited for their orders and soon enough they were off to go build the stake, Naraku of course was to supervise and make sure that everything was perfect for the spectacle. Sure there was still a chance that nothing would happen, Naraku had made sure that it was still possible for his little lost pet to reconsider her decision and agree to join him in 'holy' matrimony.

If she married him, then she wouldn't have to die and the both of them already knew that. Of course what she didn't know was that he was making it his priority to ensure her words of defeat, he was going to take away everything that she had left. InuYasha would be dead before the time for her punishment and he would make her understand that there was no such thing as happiness or hope. There was no point in believing childish fantasies, women were defenseless against the power of men, she would learn her place and if not she would die a slow and painful death.

Laughing maliciously at his own thoughts, Naraku watched the small town of Salem patiently, it wouldn't be long until the preparations were done and everything would be ready to go. He would smile his infamous smile as InuYasha lost what he loved yet again, Naraku would laugh because he was the one to do it. He was the one who made InuYasha what he was, a demonic being, a danger to everything and everyone. Minutes passed like seconds and hours like minutes and hearing the affirmative from the village men that the stage was set, Naraku turned and headed for the jail. It was time to teach the innocent that nothing would be left untainted by him. Evil would triumph over good no matter what the outcome.

**_oOo_**

The sound of metal clinking together woke Kagome from her death like sleep, she wished that she wouldn't have to wake. There was nothing left as the footsteps became louder and closer to where her prison cell lay, she had the sinking feeling that all her hopes would be shattered. At first she refused to move from her spot, keeping her eyes closed and hoping that the sound of impending doom was just a figment of her imagination, some horrible nightmare plaguing her mind. That however was not the fact of the matter as cold hands seized her shoulders and flung her to the floor. A mix between a cry of surprise and a scream of terror was ripped from her throat as she collided with the floor like a rag doll, her body rolling to a stop once it hit the cold metal bars of her cell.

Dark black eyes gleamed down at her and Kagome gasped audibly before she was forced onto her back where a few men held her down as they tied the rope around her wrists. There was no reason to be gentle since she was the guilty one, and she could feel the bruises beginning to form. Two men heaved her up to her feet none too gently and her hair fell over her face in a greasy thick mess, she looked like death, and she was pale enough to let anyone know the sickness forming inside. Kagome didn't want to look at him as his evil eyes roamed her body, the shudders of fear running through her body as his long fingers wrapped around her upper arm and pulled her to him with an eerie strength.

Time was going so slowly as they guided her from the cell, the bright sun beating against her face and making her shy away from it. She had been kept from the sun and now it was almost burning her sensitive eyes, one of the things she had loved with her heart was hurting her like everything else had. Kagome kept her eyes on her feet, her head bowed down as she walked, she needn't see the looks on the people's faces as she passed them because she already could feel their cold eyes piercing through her body. Her feet were covered in dirt and her once white night gown was gray, she was ashamed of herself, she was nothing but a pathetic excuse for life.

It was Naraku's interruption that had brought Kagome from deep within her head as he violently cleared his throat. His eyes were staring at her, into her soul as he ordered the village men to take her to the wooden stake. Everything was ready. Moving her head slowly to the side, she gazed down at the small crowd that had began to form, they were looking at her with such hatred, such pure hatred that it was like stabbing her with hundreds of pins. One man towards the steps leading to where she now stood surrounded by the golden yellow hay held a burning torch in his hands, seemingly pleased with his task. They were all so eager to burn the innocent, to purge themselves of what they thought was evil. They were blind.

Lolling her head to the other side, her blood ran cold. Her mother stood there not too far off in the distance with her grandpa, they were holding each other as if they were each other's life lines, their eyes burning with something that Kagome had almost forgotten. It was sadness, the love that only a family knows, and one other emotion that she couldn't place, but their tears spoke larger than anything else. It was her looking at them longingly that made the tears prick at the back of her eyes, what made her let out a quiet sob that wrenched at her heart. She shut her eyes to block their faces out of her mind, she didn't want to see them, she didn't want them to know how much they were killing her on the inside by being there.

"It is time Kagome," Naraku's soft voice danced in her head, his cockiness making her fill with loathing. "You're killing them you know. Your family has gone through so much, the death of your grandmother and your pathetic father's choice for treason. This can all still be salvaged, and you can put their minds to ease. Just say that you're guilty, say that you want the lord back in your heart and I'll set you free. However, you'll have to pay a price that is, because nothing comes for free. You'll have to be my bride Kagome, can you do that? Sacrifice yourself for your family's grief or protect yourself from everything and give it all up for a demon's love? It's your choice, so make it quickly but think wisely."

"I can't," her words were barely a whisper. "I can't choose because either way I've chosen death. I would rather die and give my family closure than to become your wife and show them slowly that saving myself was pointless. I won't let you break me Onigumo, I won't let you take what's not yours."

His laughter was cruel and it made Kagome's skin crawl as if she was about to be slapped in the face while he screamed "WRONG", but it didn't happen. His pale fingers touched her chin and brought her tear-filled eyes to meet the gaze of his own cold and calloused ones. In them she saw a hidden truth that was longed to be spoken, it was something that screamed of doom and hopelessness. It threatened to consume her and tearing her face away she let out a growl, she wasn't going to let him win.

"I should tell you my pet," he cooed almost sweetly. "Your demon will not come to save you if that's what you're hoping for."

"What do you mean?" Her heart was beating quickly in her chest at his tone, her breath shortening as she thought of the different possibilities.

"Some of the village men set out early this morning with their shot guns, pitchforks, and other things into the forest." Naraku said viciously. "They won't be coming back until they have his head, and I sent Koga with them. He won't disappoint me, or this village and I presume that they are on their way back as we speak since I received the signal earlier that they found your poor InuYasha."

It was his words that was the last straw that broke the camel's back, and she could feel the hot tears running down her face in defeat. Because of her InuYasha was being hunted down like some animal, and only to be skinned alive and beheaded. Something was breaking inside of her and if she hadn't been supported by the ropes now tired around her chest, she was certain that she would have fallen to her knees. It was all very surreal to her and she didn't know if she could handle it all. Kagome wanted to believe that InuYasha would survive, hell he was strong enough and yet the image of at least twenty village men with shot guns and pitchforks made him look so small in her eyes.

The man holding the torch came to Naraku's side and handed over the long piece of wood caught aflame, it was his duty as a 'messenger' of god to rid the earth of the tainted, to purify the evil from within humans and beings in general. Willing her tears to stop, she bit down on her lip, Kagome wanted to show Naraku that she wasn't going to lie down and let him take everything away from her, she wasn't going to show him what he wanted to see. Glaring at him as he smirked his arrogant smirk, Kagome thought that she saw Naraku's eyes narrow menacingly until a shot rang out from the forest and she felt her heart skip a beat in fear.

"Do you have any last words my pet?" He asked as an eerie wind blew her matted and tangled hair from her face.

Kagome nodded her head, and took a deep breath, fighting against the aching in her lungs, and she screamed the first word that came to her lips.

"INUYASHA!"

**_oOo_**

InuYasha had been sitting impatiently at the same spot waiting for the gray wolf, but she was late again. He needed advice on what to do, yet everything was quiet. Sure InuYasha knew that she wouldn't come to see him again, it was her nature to only appear when there seemed to be no hope left, when everything around him was about to break. Yet he didn't understand why she wasn't there with him telling him what he should do. He needed her dammit so why couldn't she get off her old mangy ass to help him!

Angry amber eyes glanced around with paranoia, the night had gone by quickly and now that morning was upon him he had the feeling that something wasn't right. The forest was usually so filled with life, with the sounds of animals and bugs, or the singing of the trees as the birds told of the better days. However it was deadly silent and it gave InuYasha the creeps. He had been living in the forest long enough to know that the stillness usually meant that a bad omen had just been prophesized, evil was lurking in the darkness and that he had to stay on his toes unless he wanted to get caught up in the whirlwind of it all.

His nerves were on the edge and by the time he was near the river kneeling down to take a quick drink, he was positive that by the end of this ordeal he would develop a nervous tick. He wanted to smile at seeing himself twitching like a crazy, but now was not the time for laughter, he had to be serious and think of something that would give him Kagome. The white dog ears perched on top of his head swiveled at the sound of trees rustling and his eyes narrowed, someone was there and he had the gut feeling that it wasn't the welcoming committee either.

InuYasha waited until the rustling stopped to let his heart begin to beat again. He could feel his adrenaline being to rise and his blood rushing in his veins, it was a type of excitement that he never felt before and it unnerved him, yet brought a sick pleasure to his heart. There was something happening to him on the inside, something horrible and even though he couldn't place where it started, he knew that it had something to deal with his new beginning forty years ago.

The snapping of a twig threw InuYasha from his thoughts and his head snapped to where the sound came. His amber eyes were dark with malice and his silver hair framed around his face making him look even more evil to the small group of men now merely a yard away. To them he looked like a feral dog, crouching down so close to the ground it looked as though he would easily pounce and rip their throats out in only a blink of an eye. However it wouldn't matter if only one of them was taken out, because they had come prepared, Naraku had given them a strategy that would not lose. Not when they were messengers of heaven, they couldn't lose.

InuYasha glanced impatiently back and forth between the four men, they acted so tough with their weapons of death, yet they didn't understand just how much he wanted to laugh at them. They could push him up against a wall and corner him but they wouldn't be able to cage or control him, the men would be lucky to have their lives intact when he was through with them. Shifting himself a little InuYasha let out a loud growl of warning, he wasn't going to go down easily and promised to take every last one of them with him if they persisted.

A snap of metal made InuYasha shift his eyes behind him and his growl grew louder ten fold when he spotted an old 'friend'. Koga stood there looking as though he was authorities, the man next to him pointing the shot gun in InuYasha's direction, they had him completely surrounded without him even noticing, smart start, but could they hold onto the advantage they were having. He had a large grin on his face and InuYasha wanted to swipe it off the boy's face with his deadly claws, then see who was left smiling.

"You're not so tough now are you demon?" Koga's voice was filled with amusement and it only gave way for more anger. "There's no way that you can get away from us, we will have your head."

Koga's companion fired a warning shot next to InuYasha's body and he was ready to attack, his fangs bare and his eyes narrowed evilly, they all would get their just desserts. Digging his claws into the ground, InuYasha smiled and was about to kick up the dirt when a scream rang through the forest trees and he stopped what he was doing immediately. His blood ran cold and he felt every feeling of hatred and death to the men around him instantly die away, it was all a distraction. Kagome! How could he forget that she needed him? How could he let them take advantage of time and let them try and take away what was rightfully his.

InuYasha attacked. His fists flew like the bullets from the shotguns, but it was his flesh that left the marks. His growl of rage was louder than ever before and he tackled Koga, digging his claws down the arms of the boy as he smelled her blood in the air, they were hurting her and he would hurt them. This boy would live with the evidence that he pissed of something not of this world but yet of this world all the same. He would bare the mark of the damned. Once all the men were either on the forest floor unconscious or running away from the scene with their tails between their legs, InuYasha took off to the sky. His hair flying frantically as he jumped from tree to tree with the ferocity for the wind, he wouldn't let them succeed in harming her. He would save his Kagome and make sure that Onigumo, or now "Naraku" would pay for every last thing that he had done. He would pay for everything.

**_oOo_**

Naraku frowned as he watched the girl bound to the stake, she had called out the demon's name in front of the crowd, incriminated herself and now no matter what she was guilty and would die. He could hear the screaming of her mother as the men tried to drag her away, it was the name of an ill-fated love that struck memory lane, her daughter was entwined in an age old story of love, lust, and death. Turning his attention back to Kagome, he raised his eyebrow at her haggard coughing, screaming had not been such a wise decision, but the blood that trailed down her pink lips proved that she was hoping for more than just a miracle. Laughter rang from his mouth as he narrowed his eyes at Kagome, the time had come.

"So be it."

And he dropped the torch on the hay.

**_oOo_**

**E/N:** Okay that's it! Please tell me if you liked it or hated it! There's only one chapter left and I'm working on a small story called "Lyrics of Lust" It probably won't be a fanfic, but if it does well it won't be posted on due to the title and the contents. It's actually a really dark story about rape, lust, and psychotic nature. HOPE you'll read it once it's posted! I 3 you all!

REVIEW!

Miztikal-Dragon


	11. Chapter Nine

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own InuYasha, so please dont sue me!

This is it folks! The ENDING! This chapter contains material not suited for children. I.E. SEXUAL CONTENT! You have been warned!

**_Bewitched_**

_**Updated on: 1/29/06**_

_**Completed on: 1/29/06**_

_**By Miztikal-Dragon**_

_**Chapter Nine **_

The very second that they torch hit the hay, it was set ablaze. It had been so fast that nobody had the chance to blink and despite what they felt, gasps of surprise fell from their lips. Fire, it was everywhere, circling Kagome like a ring of death and her eyes were drawn to it, she couldn't look away. The flames closed in around her, the heat seeping into her skin and making her sweat. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, she couldn't breathe. Smoke pillowed around her like a curtain and she choked on it.

To everyone outside the perimeter, the fire looked like a forbidden dance, the dance of the damned, of the very flames of hell. It was a sin to watch but a sin to look away. It drew closer to Kagome, nearly nipping at her flesh and singeing her clothes, and at one point catching a light. She screamed then, a loud shrill scared scream that sent shudders through every villager. Her mother wailed loudly begging for the madness to end, for the life of her daughter to be spared, but Naraku stood there a few feet away from the flames, his arms over his chest. Black eyes stared into the flames, hiding his smirk, but barely.

An echo roared from the forest surrounding Salem, a howl of animalistic anger, the bringer of death was coming. Wind blew fiercely and as another howl erupted from the forest, a flash of silver escaped from the tops of the trees and headed directly towards the crowd. Villagers screamed in fear and fled as a figure stood crouched on the ground, golden eyes filled with hatred staring down the head man of the town. The beast was calling him out.

InuYasha was angry, he was out for blood. It was revenge for the death of Kikyo, for him, and for Kagome. He wouldn't leave until he had ripped the flesh from the foul being's body and left him nothing but a blood mass of nothing. Growling loudly he stood up, his claws flexed and his muscles stiff, this was the first and last fight. Good against evil, there would be nothing held back, this fight was for the whole cake.

"NARAKU!" InuYasha was loud and commanding, his silver hair blowing all around him.

Laughter rang out, malicious laughter that curdled the blood of any and all who witnessed the scene before them. The fire surrounding Kagome had turned purple and black, the smoke filling the sky and turning it red and orange like the sunsets in the summer. There was something horribly wrong in Salem, the devil was going to show its face once and for all.

"InuYasha," Naraku chuckled evilly. "We both know what it is that you want, but honestly do you think that you'll be able to save her now? This Onigumo will not allow you to take what is rightfully mine! I will have this town as my own. The gateway to eternal suffering will no longer be delayed because of selfish nothings."

"I WON'T LET YOU HAVE HER!" InuYasha screamed.

InuYasha attacked. His claws were bared and his eyes were narrowed into slits. He was like a flash of lightening as he surged forward, swiping his claws at Naraku, he would take no prisoners. No mercy. Naraku was able to dodge the initial attack and it sent InuYasha almost stumbling to the ground, almost. The air grew thick with something, and Black eyes widened and turned red. The demon was coming out of his shell. Pale flesh tore at the seams, the once human body expanding into a giant of a beast. Sickening green and brown tentacles broke free and tore black hair from Naraku's scalp. Blood oozed from fingertips which expanded into sharp and yellow claws.

It was a transformation out of the book of Satan, clothing ripped and the pieces that touched the ground burst in to green flames. InuYasha watched in disgust as Naraku took shape, his body merely lumps of something else, carcasses of what looked to be insects and pieces of animals that had been taken in. Bones of animals circled down his back and looked like shields, his head taking the form of Onigumo, the man who had betrayed InuYasha in the past. Red eyes, that's all he focused on as flesh melted, turning into blue cloth and which shrunk the demon's body into the shape of a man. He was reconstructing himself. This demon Naraku, Onigumo, or whatever he called himself was like the water, never the same thing twice.

He laughed as his skin turned olive and his body was complete. The sword in his hand humming, wishing for the blood of a half demon who had never been fully transformed. He had been doing this for centuries, turning humans into demons, letting the evil fill their souls and when the time came, absorbing them into his being as his own creation, thus making him more powerful. It was how the cycle worked. Only the strong would survive, and he was the strongest of them all. Villagers watched in disbelief and some fainted from the sight. To think that the leader of their village was nothing but a demon in disguise, the town of Salem was a harem for sin, a breeding ground for evil.

"How do you like my true form InuYasha?" Naraku sneered watching the said half demon, his red eyes burning holes into flesh. "Soon you will be a part of this body, and I will show these pathetic humans the true meaning of suffering. You will not escape me half breed, I made you what you are and now I will take what's mine."

InuYasha was distracted by a shrill scream of Kagome from the swirling fire of greens and blacks, the flames dancing with an eerie magic. It was like a funnel of air swirling around making the fire compress as if it was slowly closing in around the girl and InuYasha darted for her. He couldn't let her die like that, he wouldn't allow Naraku to win, not after everything that had happened. Blood, the smell of her blood filled his nostril and before he could leap into the swirling fire of death, his ears twitched and he barely had enough time to try and doge the attack.

Spinning on his heels, InuYasha was thrown across the ground, a large brown tentacle springing from Naraku's body and impaling itself into InuYasha's bicep. He cried out in pain and clawed at it, trying to tear it from his body as it tingled. The bastard was laughing at him and it angered him, filled his heart with the hate he had felt earlier, it kept him going strong. His eyes darted around and lunging to his left, InuYasha was able to fake a left and throw a punch, his fist missing, but his claws taking with them a nice chunk of flesh from Naraku's body.

He had to keep an eye on the sword that Naraku carried in his hand as it swung too close for comfort next to his head, it would prove to be a disadvantage. Barely able to avoid the next tentacle that came at him InuYasha changed his strategy, what he had wasn't working for him and managing to jump behind the incarnate of evil, InuYasha tore at flesh with his claws, red blood spilling everywhere.

There was no scream of pain like he was expecting, but laughter, Naraku just laughed as he turned to face the hanyou, his blood red eyes glowing with malicious intent. Lifting the blade of the sword, he said one word under his breath and it began to glow yellow, an aura that InuYasha's instincts were screaming to duck for cover. However, it happened in less than the blink of an eye and a stream of lightening poured from the blade and struck InuYasha full force. His body felt like he was being ripped off, like he was being skinned alive as the small puncture wound in his chest grew.

He screamed as his skin stretched and flesh tore, small trickles of blood escaping the expanding wound and InuYasha couldn't stop it. He could only watch in horror as his muscles twitched violently, starting to spasm and turning practically into jelly. InuYasha crashed to his knees and he tried to cover the whole now roughly the size of a fifty scent piece, hoping that he could stop it, but jolts of pain only ripped through his bones.

"Are you feeling it yet InuYasha?" Naraku laughed viciously as he kicked the hanyou's side causing InuYasha to cry out and skid backwards a few feet on his back. "The tingling goes away you know, only to be replaced with agony as your soul is torn from your body and absorbed into my own."

The pain which he spoke of, InuYasha could feel it coursing in his veins and he fought back his screams. It was like having each of his fingers smashed with a sledge hammer, followed by his wrists and his elbows and so on. He had never felt this kind of pain before, and it was worse than a bully pouring lemon juice over an open wound. His clothing was soaked with blood and he heard the chanting voice of Naraku as it grew closer, the chanting of foreign and unknown words. However they were familiar to InuYasha and as his throat closed in around him, sharp jabbing pains stabbing him he could see the light blue glow of his skin. Something was happening because of those words and it hit him instantly.

They were the words that he had heard being whispered into the wind as he buried Kikyo that one day in the snow. Those words were like whispers in his ears, slurred words, but familiar enough to be recognized. It had been Onigumo who had made him who he was, put the plans into actions that had killed one love and was now threatening to murder him and the other. This was no coincident because more than one was saying something InuYasha couldn't do a damn thing to stop it.

The breath from his lungs pour out of his lips and all the warmth he had once held vanished like a passing glance. Torture, this was pure torture and he couldn't save himself, he couldn't save Kagome and his amber eyes were wide with fear of knowing how pathetic he had come to be. How ashamed his father would be if he were still alive by how easily InuYasha was being destroyed. His feet had gone numb, he couldn't feel them and the loss of feeling was steadily going up.

His vision danced across his eyes as he gasped for air, and the hole in his chest grabbed his attention as a spark of yellow emerged. Something like a light was coming from it and he had the faintest clue to what it was, his soul. His heart was pounding frantically in his chest, to the point of bursting and his clawed hand tried to force the light back into his body. He looked like a fool as he clamped his palms over his heart, his thighs going numb and the light seeping through his flesh. This was the end for him, and the chanting wouldn't cease, he could hear it along with Naraku's evil laughter, it was blaring in his ears and drowning everything out.

There was no escape.

A loud howl broke threw and the chanting stopped, InuYasha could once again breathe. More loud howls came from the forest and Naraku's death glare was like nothing imaginable. Wolves stepped out from behind the large trees of the forest, their yellow eyes glowing, their gray bodies so close they looked like fog creeping into the village. Their howls were like whispers of death and as InuYasha's amber eyes darted lazily over the oncoming pack he could feel her aura, Kaede always knew when to appear.

"You fucking cunt!" Naraku screamed at the animals, his blood red eyes focusing onto the largest gray wolf. "I killed you! How could you still live?"

The wolves surrounded the evil demon Naraku, their eyes glowing yellow with evil intent, they were the bringers of death. The guardians of the unknown and they had come to claim their prize. They circled him with their blood thirsty eyes, their white as snow teeth glistening as they growled. Yips and yaps were loud as gunshots and Naraku's tentacles swiped at all of them, some missing and others colliding with the bodies only for them to disappear into a cloud of smoke.

Some of the villagers who were too frightened to move could only watch as the one man they believed to be their holy savior fight of a pack of wolves that seemed to be nothing more than apparitions. The hell fire still rising to the sky, its green and black flames reaching to the clouds and tainting them with their evil color. They had been blinded by their emotions and they had condemned an innocent girl to die, and now they would all pay the price. A flash of gray darted out of the forest greenery and a loud angry scream rung out through the village. Naraku's tentacles shot out everywhere as he tried to fight off the lone wolf digging her powerful jaws into his shoulder. His bone shields were useless and he only impaled himself with his tentacles as he struggled to get the beast off his back.

Yellow eyes burned pink and white jaws became stained with blood as Naraku screamed, his claws digging into gray fur and tearing the wolf from his body, a piece of flesh and muscle ripping from him. The wolf hit the ground and rolled to a stop next to the silver hair hanyou who was trying his best to get to his feet. His right arm clutched his chest, hiding the large hole from anyone's view. The wolves gave him a chance to fight, broken the concentration and the spell which Naraku had almost succeeded in killing him with, Kaede had given him all he needed to survive.

_'InuYasha,' _her voice stuttered painfully, and he went to where she lay. _'I wont last much longer, my time is almost up. Please save my granddaughter, save her and give her the life you both deserve.' _

"I promise Kaede," He whispered running his claws through the matted fur.

Golden eyes connected with each other and the body of the wolf began to shrink. The fur falling from the body and her eyes glassing over and turning silver. InuYasha could only watch in awe as the once elderly woman's spirit turned from wolf into a long piece of metal. To him it looked like a holy light and once fade he laid his eye on a magnificent sword.

_'Use it well InuYasha,' _Kaede whispered into the wind. _'Only you can rid this world of the evil it has created.' _

Gathering his bearings, InuYasha picked up the sword and stood to his feet. He would do as she asked because she had always been there for him, through thick and thin and Naraku would pay for ruining all of their lives. The said demon cowered in pain as he held his bleeding shoulder, blood red eyes glaring at the hanyou, they still had fight left in them and the last one standing would be victorious. The bringers of death turned to InuYasha and ran at him and he could only watch in fear and uncertainty as they jumped and disappeared into his sword, transforming it from a very old looking katana into a fang of enormous size.

"Even if you kill me now," Naraku spat as he stood, bringing his blade to face his enemy. "There is no way that you can save her. The hell fire will consume all human and I doubt even you can make it out once you've jumped in. Either way InuYasha, the gates of hell will open and swallow this world. My master cannot lose this time."

Swords clashed together as they fought and claws swiped strategically trying to get the better of the other. Black and silver hair swirled around in a eerie dance of battle. Neither of them were willing to allow the other any sign of victory and each time the blades came together a flash of lightening erupted from the sky. Naraku's tentacles surged from his body and into InuYasha's and with a cry of pain the hanyou fell to his knees, the blade sticking out of the ground held by his hands, this was it. Tired laughter came from Naraku's lips as he wiped away the blood from his face, he was going to go in for the kill. Muscles twitched as he dug his tentacles deeper into his enemy's body, he was going to absorb the hanyou into his body once and for all. Enough games, he had no more time for playing with children, this was a demon's turn to shine, and shine he would.

Walking to where InuYasha barely stood, Naraku smiled it was like taking candy from a baby and soon he would have his new addition to his body and all would be said and done. Amber eyes glared daggers into his own and the hanyou muttered a few words under his breath and made Naraku raise a brow, the poor idiot was saying his last words already? Giving up so quickly, but then again, he wasn't very surprised, many had done so in the past.

"What did you say InuYasha? Are you begging for me to spare your life?" Naraku cooed almost venomously, even if he did beg, there was no sparing something that he wanted.

"I said I promised her," InuYasha's hands tightened around the hilt and a flash of white pulsed from the blade and into his body. "I PROMISED AND I WON'T ABANDON HER!"

The sword InuYasha held, reacted and Naraku's eyes grew wide as he tried to pull back, his tentacles stuck inside the hanyou's body. He could feel the tingling pain as it coursed through his veins, infecting his entire being. The demon howled in pain as white jaws of death came from the sword and clamped around his arms and tentacles, pulling him into the metal of the blade. He fought like a animal caught in a trap, his body turning from his human for into a pile of demon and half demon parts, scales and extra limbs ripping his flesh. Wave after wave of pain coursed in his body and he clawed at anything that could keep him from being dragged into the sword but his claws found nothing.

InuYasha held onto the hilt of the sword like it was last lifeline until the heat in his blood died down and he could open his eyes. All he could see was the dancing flames of black and his stomach lurched, he couldn't hear anything. Jumping to his feet InuYasha ran to the flames where he was certain Kagome was and held his breath as he jumped into it. He could feel the pain of other people as he tried to get to the other side, something pulling him back and something pulling him forwards. Whatever it was it wanted to tear him in half. Biting down on his lips till they bled, InuYasha tore at the flames until he was on the other side and pressed up against something burning hot.

It was Kagome and he felt his heart skip a beat, she looked so pale and clammy almost like the dead. Brushing his claws against her face, InuYasha pushed back the hair in her eyes before nearly weeping. He should have tried harder, pushed himself more so he could have gotten their earlier and saved her from this. He should have trusted his instinct and taken her from the jail cell and taken her away, he should have never taken her home the night before and letting them dishonor her name and family.

Cutting the rope from her body, InuYasha pulled Kagome into his arms and rested her head against his chest, he had to figure a way out of this mess without risking hers or his life. Wishing that he had Kaede's imagination at the moment he took a deep breath before closing his eyes. He would have to gather his strength and pray that everything would be alright because his only choice was to go into the fire. There was nothing else, and he had to at least try.

The flames closed in and InuYasha darted into them, there was no pain but he didn't stop, he couldn't. His claws held onto Kagome and he pumped his legs, nothing would stop him and by the time he felt the coldness around him everything was quiet and his ears swiveled around his head. Opening his eyes, InuYasha found himself staring at nothing in particular, the once hell made fire was frozen solid and there were only a few villagers standing off a few yards away, their disbelieving eyes wide with unspoken fear. The mighty sword that had defeated Naraku was laying at his feet and he picked it up without hesitation. It was calling to him, whispering orders that he knew that he had to follow.

It directed him to the frozen fire and he felt power pulsing into his veins and he knew what to do. One swing that's all it took, just one swing and the wind flew from the blade and shattered the fire, consuming everything and even the sword into sparkles of light. He had to blink a few times to get the dots of black from his vision and when he did, he could see the blue sky once again. Everything was back to normal. He turned towards the forest to leave and a sob was heard that drew his attention.

"Wait please," it was a woman's pleading cry and glancing back he saw a middle aged woman who resembled the girl in his arms and he figured it was her mother.

The woman ran to where InuYasha stood and in her brown eyes tears threatened to fall. She looked older than she should have been but he stayed quiet as she touched Kagome's face. The way she trembled tugged at his heart and InuYasha wanted to cry himself, sorrow loved company, but he knew that he could not stay here, just like Kagome couldn't. He would have to be on his way.

"Ma'am," he wanted her to understand, yet there was a longing in his chest that he couldn't recognize.

"Take care of my baby," tears fell from sad eyes and InuYasha could only nod as the woman laid a kiss on Kagome's forehead.

He felt the pain in losing someone close to him and he understood her pain but there was no way that he wasn't going to take care of Kagome. He had fallen in love with her and nothing would ever change that, she was his and his until the day she died, and vise versa. Without saying another word, InuYasha left Kagome's mother standing there and headed back in the direction of the forest. He had to do a few things still and time could not be wasted. Revenge hadn't felt as great as he thought it would and in all honesty it left him feeling a little more emptier than before.

He was able to clear the name of a past love and save the new love from traveling down the same path that had been traveled before. Pulling Kagome closer to him as possible, he quickly ran towards the cave where he lived. It would be getting dark in a few hours and fire wood would have to be gathered so that they wouldn't die of the cold. He had a lot to be thankful for lately, but he didn't want to test his luck, not with someone as important as Kagome, he had to look after her now. She was his responsibility, and from then on she always would be.

**_oOo _**

All that she knew was that she was cold, her body shivering and her entire being feeling as though her lungs were frozen. She tried to claw at her throat but her arms were as heavy as logs and it was like was drowning, she couldn't escape. Kagome wanted to scream but she couldn't, nothing was working for her, her body was giving up and all she could do was think about dying this way. She wasn't going to get the happy ending she wanted, she wasn't going to get anything and hot tears fell from her eyes.

"Shhh, Kagome it's okay," she could hear his voice and the touch of something warm against her skin and she moaned.

Gentle fingers against her skin was pulling her mind from where it had been and Kagome found herself waking up from a deep sleep. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she thought it would just pop out of her throat and onto the floor. Her skin felt sticky and opening her eyes she blinked away the blur in her vision. Her muscles hurt and when she could see, Kagome stared directly into a pair of golden orbs clouded with worry. Hot tears pricked at the back of her eyes and she let out a shaky breath, it felt so good to see him again and she wanted to hold him but she couldn't. Her arms hurt and they were too heavy for her to lift at the moment.

"InuYasha," Her throat was sore and scratchy. "Am I dead?"

His soft chuckle made Kagome shiver and his eyes closed for a moment. She thought this was some strange dream and that at any moment she would wake up to find herself back in the dark cell waiting for death. His hand touched her cheek and the calloused thumb wiped away the tears that had fallen. If it was possible Kagome could have sworn that the light illuminating off the walls gave InuYasha a halo effect and he looked like the embodiment of everything pure.

"No," he whispered leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead. "You're not dead, I made sure of that."

She found herself smiling at his expression and moving her arm she rested her hand over his. Everything would be okay now because it had dawned on her, if she was with him then Naraku was defeated, that InuYasha had saved her soul from eternal damnation. Sitting up, Kagome was aided by InuYasha and she blushed as the cold air hit her chest, she remembered this all too well. Letting out a surprised squeak, she clutched the fur pelts close to her body and glanced at the hanyou, a blush covering her face. He only smiled but she could see the need hidden in his eyes and felt something pulse in her body.

"Am I free?" There was something in the way that she said it that left InuYasha's throat dry.

"Yeah," he licked his lips. "You're free."

Kagome wrapped her arms around InuYasha's body and held him close. Those words were all she needed to hear, they were the words that told her that there was no longer anything to worry about. She wanted to cry but held it back as she felt InuYasha's arms circle around her and pulling her body close to the warmth that was him. Electricity ran through their bodies and the gentle caressing of his claws left gooseflesh on her skin. She had felt this way with InuYasha before and it was coming back to her as though it had never left.

Resting her hands on his cheeks, Kagome stared deeply into InuYasha's amber orbs. She had fallen in love with him so long ago and sitting there in his arms felt so perfect that she couldn't explain it with words. Her hops had come true and she realized that she would be with InuYasha forever, he had chosen her and her heart had chosen him.

Their lips met innocently at first, but as they came together again they molded to each other and it deepened. Her arms snaked around his neck as his mouth parted hers, his tongue dipping into her mouth to reclaim the essence he had almost lost forever. His clawed hand roamed the exposed flesh of her body, memorizing every dip and curve while the other held them up. There was this heat that poured from the other, this unquenchable thirst, a hunger that needed to be fed. InuYasha's mouth swallowed Kagome's moan as his hand pushed her into him, a spark of something greater capturing their hearts and bodies.

Pulling his lips away, InuYasha breathed heavily, kissing anything and everything that he could to hear Kagome's wanton moans and mews grow louder. Her flesh was burning hot and laying her down onto the makeshift bed of fur pelts, he was able to look down at her and see the true beauty that was Kagome.

Her lips were swollen pink and her eyes were lidded, her ebony locks falling around her face and over her shoulders. It did something to him, it excited him and drove him crazy with want, a want that he could plainly feel in his loins. Just knowing that she was his wasn't enough and he wanted to feel her skin against his, to feel everything possible. InuYasha wanted to have the ultimate pleasure with Kagome, to know the ultimate form of love.

"Oh gods Kagome," he practically moaned, his bangs covering his eyes. "I love you so much it hurts."

Leaning over her, his own hair tumbling down over them like a curtain he saw her eyes sparkling with life. Her tongue darted out between parted lips and moistened them only for her to return his declaration with her very own.

**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

If you would like to find out the juicy details of the missing context, please visit the sites indicated in my profile (animespiral is no longer up) and then ENJOY!

**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

InuYasha cradled Kagome's body to his own, kissing her brown and holding her close. It had turned out to be better than expected and he was relieved that he didn't choke like he thought he would. Resting his head on his arm, he bit back a tired yawn, he was more exhausted than he already had been and now his muscles were aching. Closing his eyes, he listened to Kagome's breathing and eventually he fell into a blissful sleep.

"So did they live in that cave forever grandma?" A small voice asked innocently.

The fire crackled and the gray hair woman glanced over to the white hair man to her left. Their hands sat on the arm of the chair entwined and looking into dark eye she smiled. IN the room with them were two barely teenaged children, both girls, a middle aged man with a mustache and a beautifully aged woman. Yes, a small family gathered by a fireplace sipping hot apple cider and listening to a story that unlike time, never grew old.

"No my love they didn't," a baritone voice replied. "They stayed in that cave until the first signs of spring and with Kitsune Fox as their guide, they traveled Southwest to unknown lands of adventure."

"Did they have a family grandpa?" The other piped energetically with hands clasped tightly together. "Did he stay half demon? Did their kids have dog-ears too?"

Soft knowing laughter came from the elderly couple and they gave the two girls reassuring smiles. "No, he didn't stay half demon for long dear. With Onigumo's evil spell broken, InuYasha eventually turned human again, although some things did remain the same for the better. His strength was still quite inhuman along with his senses, but other than that he was like your father and me are now, just human."

"So no, their kids didn't have dog-ears," the woman replied gently. "And though it would have been a remarkable sight, fate had decided on a different path for them. Kagome and InuYasha didn't stay in one place for long, their thirst for adventure took them almost everywhere and they loved each other like no other person could. However, that my loves, is a story for another time."

Groans of protest were heard and the two girls rose from their seats, the story had ended and like they had promised, it was time for bed. Hugs and kisses were exchanged and soon the two of them were left alone with each other and the roaring fire. The elderly man got to his feet and shuffled over to his wife, sitting down next to her, his dark eyes sparkling with life and love.

"I always knew you missed my ears Kagome," his voice was husky as he kissed her hand.

"I did, but I didn't know that I really loved you until you fought that little boy for me back in Salem." She replied gazing into the fire. "I always thought that if you would willing fight Koga for my sake and honor like that you really cared for me. I'm glad that you decided to find me that day in the snow all those years ago."

"You're mistaken Kagome," InuYasha said softly. "It was you who found me and innocently bewitched me into loving you."

Leaning over, InuYasha placed a chaste kiss on Kagome's lips and together they held hands and watched the dancing fire, recalling all the adventures they had together and everything that they were given. Life, it was something that they had decided not to take for granted, and lady luck had graced them with a loving family to grow old with, and each other. They were happy, and they always would be.

_**The End.**_

_**E/N: **It wasn't the original ending that I had planned over a year ago, but I really liked this one better. I spent more than 7 hours on this today trying to finish it up, and I really hope that I did a good job. The fighting scene took the longest because I wanted something original, something that I knew hadn't been done before and if it has, well then all that time was really wasted now wasn't it? lol **THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO EVER HAS LEFT ME A REVIEW!** You kept me going strong! _

_If you liked this story, please read "Getting to Know You" or "WIll You Be Mine?" or heck any of my stories! And as always, please contribute to the "FEED THE AUTHORESS" fund by submiting a review whether it be praising me or flaming me, it doesn't matter. _

_**Adult fanfiction:** _

_**Chanda: **Yeah I know it was a pretty bad cliffy, and yeah even I'm saddened knowing that this was the final chapter! Thank you for being such a loyal reviewer to all of my stories!_

_**Victoria: **Wow, I've never been really thanked for writing a story before. I am looking forward to your reviews and thank you for enjoying my story!_

_**Zelix: **I hope that you liked this! And you should thinking about posting chapters for your stories too (wink!) lol _

_**NekoReiBaka: **Understandable! Alnighters do suck and it's cool that you took the time to read it! I'm not really a genius, in fact my friends constantly say that I may look inteligent, but I'm actually pretty stupid (sweatdrops) I'm surprised that there aren't as many good stories out there, but I'm filled with joy knowing that you think this one is up there with the good stuff!_

_**InuGrrl: **Lol I don't think I've seen that episode of the simpsons, but I've seen a similar one with Marge and Lisa, but that little insert made me laugh a lot! Yeah I agree with you there are a lot of stories like this out there, but about more than a year ago when I posted mine I couldn't really find any, but oh well. No one's completely original when it comes to fanfics! Thank you for reviewing and update your own stories! lol _

_**Mel: **Thanks sorry this wasn't soon enough. _

_**InuyashaDramGirl: **More praise and I will dance! lol _

_**Lady Everest: **Yes, I know that Salem wasn't Catholic and I'm sorry that you had to put up with such incorrect material (sighs overdramatically with hand over her breast) I'm not an ignorant fool, trust me, many before you have explained this to me and I HAVE stated that once this story was over I was going to go back and fix the mistakes made. God forbid people forget a detail or two. When I die and become reincarnated I'll be sure to study ever religion so people won't have to be anal, because honestly in this life I don't give a bloody hoot about any of them (sticks out tongue)_

_**Mediaminer: **_

_**LunaStorm:** I'm not a very nice person I know and I'm sorry to hear about your email. I hope that this wasn't too long of a wait for you, lol! _

_**rinsama1989: **Thanks, yeah I was glad I did that too because it was more suspenseful! He is evil isn't he? Rawr! You must read! lol _

_**Fanfiction: **_

_**jenfrog: **I had to stop there, that's where the chapter ended! lol_

_**Pirate Tom/Rebecca: **You know I really love you! You're always reviewing me and yelling at me to update that it makes me smile! I know that would have been so spiffeh, talk about an evil suspense theme song! Yeah I had a hard time with that whole Koga is like Hojo, but more of a whiny bitch thing. Action rocks yes, and Inu finally gets hit with a 2X4! Yeah that's cool, well actually I started writing this story way before I even read the Crucible and I've never read the Scarlet letter but some other really cool stuff and my ego for angst gave me ideas. _

_**Dori: **Thank you, I'm glad.. and OOOO it's good to know that someone wants to read it, although it's not finsihed yet (sighs) coo beans, coo beans. _

_**EmeraldoftheFlame: **yes, most men are ignorant (coughs) yar! w00t!_

_**Lavender Valentine: **yeah, thanks, I wasn't sure if it was good or not. I'm always happy to hear that I can make you so eager to read!_

_**SmokeyTheBear0Only you can ...: **uh.. cool name, emotion good _

_**InuyashaHanyouJajuama: **yar!_

_**I guess this is goodbye? (cries) PLEASE REVIEW! If not for me do it for the evil PLOT BUNNIES who want to be fed!**_

_**-Krystal-**_


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